SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – As federal jobs are being lost across the county, and there is a freeze on new hires at national parks and forests, Lake Tahoe is not immune to the same issues. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) of the USDA Forest Service covers 156,335 acres around Lake Tahoe. There are full-time staff that work for LTBMU as well as many seasonal workers, including firefighters. These are positions that keep the recreation areas open and safe for tens of thousands of visitors annually.

This is the time of year LTBMU starts to interview and hire seasonal workers for the various positions around the lake. The local office cannot answer any questions for the media and all inquiries must go through Washington, DC.

“USDA is reviewing all executive orders signed by President Trump and expects to share guidance on implementing them to agencies and mission areas as soon as possible,” a USDA spokesperson told South Tahoe Now. “We do not have additional information to share at this time.”

The further information we are waiting for is (1) how many seasonal workers are normally in the Lake Tahoe Basin; (2) how many of those are firefighters; and (3) how many full-time employees are working for LTBMU.

There are only two law enforcement officers with USFS working in the entire Lake Tahoe Basin, and it is unconfirmed that one of those is leaving – which would leave one for the entire Basin.

A new public affairs specialist with the Humboldt-Toiyabe Forest lost her job Friday as she’d only been on the job for a few months. So far, the LTBMU public affairs specialist is still on board.

Besides the current USDA directives, Congress is still working on an agreement to fund the government with a March 14 deadline looming.

An update on February 19 from another USDA spokesperson, with the original questions not being answered:

Secretary Rollins fully supports the President’s directive to improve government, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen USDA’s many services to the American people. We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy.  

As part of this effort, USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service. To be clear, none of these individuals were operational firefighters. Released employees were probationary in status, many of whom were compensated by temporary IRA funding. It’s unfortunate that the Biden administration hired thousands of people with no plan in place to pay them long term. Secretary Rollins is committed to preserving essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted.”