Running bureaucratic rapids

Yahoo

11-05-2025

May 11—Nonprofit partners of the U.S. Forest Service have scrambled to avoid what some had feared might be a summer rafting free-for-all on coveted stretches of whitewater.
The federal hiring freeze combined with the on-again, off-again dismissals of probationary employees and about 5,000 workers opting to retire early or otherwise leave the Forest Service have left it short-staffed across the country. That includes the seasonal crews that work at put-ins for the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, the Main Salmon River and the Snake River in Hells Canyon — all of which require permits to float during the busy rafting season.
The people who work at put-ins, known as checkers, meet with permit holders prior to launching. They make sure each trip has the needed permits and give them a rundown of the rules and regulations. Other Forest Service employees work as river rangers and on-the-water patrols. They float the rivers, work with rafters, kayakers and others to make sure fragile resources are protected.
Dustin Aherin said without river checkers and patrols, it's possible the rivers could be flooded with unpermitted groups or that permitted groups, both private boaters and outfitted trips, could have exceeded caps on the number of people allowed per trip.
"There was a very real possibility of that," he said. "There was a moment in time when they didn't have any employees."
Aherin, of Lewiston and Salmon, owns Idaho River Adventures and is president of the Middle Fork Outfitters Association. During the chaos that followed the Trump administration's decision to dismiss probationary federal employees, his organization worked with the Idaho congressional delegation to lay the groundwork for a solution.
The Middle Fork Outfitters Association has been using the Trail Stewardship Act to help the Forest Service maintain the roads that provide access to Boundary Creek. The 2016 law allows holders of special use permits to use the money they are required to pay the Forest Service (3% of their gross profits) for trail maintenance and to care for other recreational infrastructure.
Before the act, outfitters would write a check to the federal government. Now they can write checks to contractors who perform maintenance work and then use the receipts to offset what they own the feds.
This summer, Aherin and other outfitters will divert the money they owe the Forest Service to the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation. In turn, the group will hire four people to work as checkers at put-ins and two to work on Forest Service river patrol crews.
"It is really in line with our mission, it's just not something we have done before," said Ryan Ghelfi, executive director of the foundation.
The group typically hires trail crews and wilderness rangers to help the agency care for the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church-River of No Return wilderness areas that overlay much of central Idaho's backcountry. Working on the river is new and so far a temporary part of the group's work.
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Ghelfi said the people the foundation hires will work under the direction of the Forest Service and at least for now, it is just for this summer to help the agency deal with unexpected circumstances.
"The way things are right now, it's something our organization needed to be able to say yes to and we did."
Amy Baumer, a spokesperson for the Salmon-Challis National Forest, said the agreement builds on previous partnerships leveraging outfitter offsets authorized by the Trails Stewardship Act.
"We see the opportunity to collaborate with SBFC (Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation) during this summer's boating season as a significant benefit to boaters and the river environment. More people (SBFC) to work alongside Forest Service river staff educating boaters, checking permits, promoting river ethics, and providing important fire and river information can only lead to a better boater experience this summer."
On the Snake River in Hells Canyon, Idaho Power Company employee Jared Farrens works at the Hells Canyon Creek put-in beneath Hells Canyon Dam to check in permit holders and give them an orientation of river rules. In the past, the Forest Service has covered weekends for Farrens. But given the agency's staffing problems, it looked like that wouldn't happen this year.
Idaho Power spokesperson Brad Bowlin said Discover Your Northwest stepped in and will hire people to work shifts not covered by Idaho Power.
The group, based in Seattle, operates retail shops within federal public land visitor centers and uses the income to fund and manage a grant program.
"They are planning to use those funds to hire seasonal employees and cover that gap left by the cuts to Forest Service recreation staff," said Bowlin.
Aherin said the creative partnerships might not save money but it shouldn't cost any more either and is a sign of the times.
"What we are doing is kind of in line with the current administration's desire to cut out burearcy. Nobody is saving money to do this and it's not costing anybody any more."
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