U.S. Forest Service Worker Returns to Job after Firing by Trump Overturned

A U.S. Forest Service employee from La Grande who was among more than 60 workers from the agency fired in February as part of the Trump administration’s effort to trim the federal government said he is scheduled to return to his job on Monday, March 24.

Lanny Flaherty, 40, worked as a Forest Service seasonal employee for many years before being hired full-time as a range ecologist in November 2023 at the La Grande Ranger District.

Flaherty said he believes all employees from the La Grande District who were fired will be returning. He said he isn’t sure about other districts on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, or on other national forests, but he believes “most folks will return.”

He received an email from Deedra Fogle, human resources director for the Forest Service, which states, in part: “Having been identified as an employee in a group of probationary employees terminated from USDA in February 2025, you have previously been notified of your change into paid status, while still remaining on paid administrative leave. In furtherance of USDA’s phased return-to-duty probational employees, the office of Forest Service Human Resources Management is working with Personnel Security professionals and the Office of Chief Information Officer to ensure that steps are taken to effectively bring you back to work status. You are scheduled to report to work on 3/24/2025.”

On March 13, a federal judge in San Francisco ordered several federal departments to offer to reinstate employees fired in February.

The list includes the Agriculture Department, of which the Forest Service is part, as well as the departments of veterans affairs, defense, energy, interior and treasury.

Flaherty said earlier this month he thinks it’s possible that he and other federal workers could be fired again, under a different justification.

However, Flaherty said he hopes that even if that were to happen, he could potentially receive back pay for the period between his firing and reinstatement.

He spends his summers gathering data about the condition of cattle grazing allotments on the Wallowa-Whitman to ensure that they complied with federal laws, primarily the Endangered Species Act.

“I would go back because I believe in the work,” Flaherty said.

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