by Bernie Kluger & Andrea Delgado
On February 5, 2026, the federal government released the first full-year data on its two million employee workforce. Former government officials at Prospect Partners and Hawk Eye Strategies, consultancies based in Washington, DC and Colorado, respectively, have conducted an initial review on the newly released staffing data, focusing on impacts to land management agencies at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Our analysis of DOI and USDA workforce data shows widespread reductions, with net declines in every state, every land management agency, and in nearly every job those agencies perform.
Although preliminary, their findings contradicts agency assurances that cuts would be limited to back office and administrative positions. Instead, the data indicates widespread staffing reductions to front line workers across all western states and in rural communities. Voluntary and involuntary staff separations cut deeply into the ranks of new employees, those with less than five years of experience, who disproportionately serve the public in front line jobs. Examples of reductions in the number new workers serving in western states:
- Plant pathologists: down 60%
- Soil scientists: down 56%
- Entomologists: down 33%
- General and natural resource managers: down 32%
- Civil engineers: down 31%
- Fish biologists: down 25%
Although these workers may not be on the front lines of wildland fire management, their work before, during, and after the fire season has a direct impact on the preservation of life and property.
Figure 1: Net Change in 2025 in Public Land Agency Workforce, New Employees (Less Than Five Years Federal Experience)
Additional findings from this study available through this download link.
Prospect Partners anticipates releasing in the coming weeks additional findings on the federal public lands workforce, as well as federal contracting, cooperative agreements, and grants related public lands management. Future studies by Prospect Partners will also expand their analysis to workforce impacts in the agricultural program workforce at the US Department of Agriculture.
We welcome inquiries about this study and questions about our work at info@prospectdc.com or here.
