Wyden, Merkley, Murray Call For PIOs To Be Reinstated

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Washington Senator Patty Murray, are calling on the Trump administration to reinstate 13 Bureau of Land Management employees removed from their positions just as wildfire season begins.  The workers served as public information officers in Oregon and Washington, providing communities with “critical updates on fire conditions, safety information, and evacuation notices.”

Some were also trained to assist in wildfire operations.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, the senators warned the staffing cuts leave BLM districts without local communications personnel at a time when drought conditions and low snowpack are increasing wildfire concerns across the Pacific Northwest. 

“It is extremely concerning that there are now zero on-the-ground, district level personnel to communicate critical public safety information to our constituents, the media, and local officials,” the senators wrote. “Removing these employees…at the very start of fire season with no apparent plan to replace them leaves communities across our states without the information and resources they need to stay safe during fires; this may have life-threatening consequences.” 

"This intentional and reckless elimination of expertise is not government efficiency. It is part of a calculated scheme by the Trump administration to conceal critical information from the public, avoid accountability for the increased risk it has created, and actively mismanage public lands," the letter continued.  "After last year’s staffing reductions, hiring freezes, and withholding of funds, this latest unnecessary reorganizing of agency professionals into new positions puts lives at risk and knowingly sets your own agency up for failure.

Click Here to read the letter sent to Secretary Burgum.

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