Western states are facing moderate to severe drought, record-low snowpack, and above-normal significant fire potential.  New analysis by Hawk Eye Strategies and Prospect Partners reveals how federal personnel cuts have compromised the early warning system that communities, recreationists, hunters and anglers, farmers and ranchers, and local, state, and Tribal governments rely on. 

Following the massive federal workforce contraction of 2025, states across the Western U.S. now rank among the top ten for public land agency job losses nationally. For the first time, the public has access to federal data showing how decisions made in Washington, DC can undermine the health and resilience of public lands and communities to the threats posed by insects, disease, drought and wildfire.

Across the six states analyzed – Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Nevada – nearly 6,000 public lands jobs were lost in 2025. Cuts hit park rangers, hydrologists, wildlife managers, rangeland specialists, and emergency dispatchers, among others — the workforce that manages forests, parks, grasslands, and watersheds, keeps them safe and accessible, and helps mobilize resources when they're needed most.

Click on the fact sheets below to see how these cuts have impacted the public lands workforce in each county in these six Western states:

E-mails: 

Delgado@Hawk-Eye-Strategies.com; Bernie@ProspectDC.com