Union representatives for U.S. Forest Service workers in the Sawtooth and Salmon-Challis national forests are echoing some conclusions stated in an internal Forest Service trails report recently obtained and published by The Washington Post describing widespread public and employee dissatisfaction with trails on federally-managed public lands.
The internal report, published on Tuesday, Dec. 16, stated that services and public satisfaction in national forests across the U.S. will “continue to decline in 2026 and beyond without direction to prioritize investments in recreation generally and the trails program specifically.”
The report also stated that some districts across the country have lost up to 100% of their trails staff and “hundreds of years of trail expertise.” It stated that Forest Service staff are experiencing stress and burnout.