{"id":335200,"date":"2025-12-08T17:36:37","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/animal\/federal-judge-halts-interior-department-layoffs-that-threatened-wildlife-protections-during-government-shutdown\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T17:36:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T17:36:37","slug":"federal-judge-halts-interior-department-layoffs-that-threatened-wildlife-protections-during-government-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=335200","title":{"rendered":"Federal Judge Halts Interior Department Layoffs That Threatened Wildlife Protections During Government Shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"


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For Immediate Release: October 28, 2025<\/b><\/p>\n

Contact: <\/b>Jewel Tomasula, Ph.d, National Policy Director, <\/span>[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/span><\/a>, 202-930-3044
<\/span>M. Flores, Communications Associate, [email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Federal Judge Halts Interior Department Layoffs That Threatened Wildlife Protections During Government Shutdown<\/b><\/p>\n

Decision comes amid shutdown and months of political attacks on public servants vital to wildlife conservation and public lands management.<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington D.C. \u2013 A federal judge has paused plans from the U.S. Department of Interior to lay off thousands of public servants during the government shutdown.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crucial to protecting and recovering endangered species are the people who work in our federal agencies.<\/b> The current government shutdown has affected thousands of workers from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and National Marine Fisheries Service, preventing them from doing the critical work to protect threatened and endangered species. This government shutdown is the latest in a months-long attack on these dedicated, hard-working public servants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since February 2025, these chronically underfunded and understaffed agencies have lost critical personnel due to the \u201cDepartment of Government Efficiency\u201d led by billionaire Elon Musk. Efforts to eliminate federal positions continue under Trump appointee Russel Vought. Public-serving programs on public lands have been devastated. The reduction in staffing levels has impacted the public\u2019s ability to access publicly funded outdoor spaces and access to education opportunities in nature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>documents revealed by court order<\/span><\/a>, Trump appointees have planned mass layoffs for the Department of the Interior, which would especially devastate the collaborative, partner-driven work to recover endangered species. Planned layoffs include:<\/span><\/p>\n