This is a developing story.
Nearly all employees at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center have been fired in President Donald Trump’s mass purge of the federal government workforce, according to officials and former employees, raising questions about how Juneau’s biggest tourism attraction can continue operating, and impacts on the people and nature there.
“At this point, 80% of all USFS visitor staff at the Mendenhall Glacier (MGVC and recreation area) are no longer there — only two staff remain at the MGVC,” Liz Perry, president and CEO of Travel Juneau, wrote in an email to members Thursday evening. She noted Travel Juneau is “awaiting information” about the opening of the center for this year’s summer tourism season.
However, additional federal firings are expected as “the next phrase will include an overall reduction in the federal workforce,” Perry wrote. Tourism officials don’t know “how those reductions will be implemented or which agencies/departments will be prioritized.”
Megan Whitesall, a park ranger and forestry technician at the visitor center for three years who departed last March, stated in an online interview Tuesday that 19 employees were set to work there this summer. Fired were 10 rangers designated as tourism season workers, three other rangers and the director, leaving only a skeletal maintenance staff remaining.
Inquiries by the Empire this week to a U.S. Forest spokesperson for the Tongass National Forest region did not receive a reply.
The firings are only a small percentage of the total number of federal employees terminated locally — and The New York Times reported Tuesday at least 11,000 probationary employees have been fired nationwide during the past week. But the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center is a target of particular concern to local officials since the glacier is Juneau’s most visited tourist attraction with about 700,000 visitors annually — and the first cruise ships are scheduled to arrive in less than two months.
“Right now it’s too early to know what they need,” Alexandra Pierce, tourism manager for the City and Borough of Juneau, wrote in a text message Wednesday. “We are certainly happy to help with advocacy, but out of respect for the USFS staff, we’re not in currently in a position to impose resources or solutions…this is the first shock, and the first attempt at triage. It’s too early to know what the options are.”
The Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) has delivered a letter to Alaska’s congressional delegation about concerns “especially as they affect the MGVC and MGRA,” but also over the impacts on all of Alaska’s public lands, national parks, and US forests,” Perry wrote.
U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, an Alaska Republican who has expressed support for Trump’s agenda including the mass firings, said he is open to considering lobbying to reverse cuts on specific items of concern raised by constituents during a presentation Thursday to the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce.
One aspect of the visitor center’s summer season that so far is proceeding as normal is the cultural ambassador program operated by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska as part of a co-stewardship agreement with the Forest Service. There were 10 ambassadors at the glacier area during the program’s first year last summer, which focused on teaching visitors about the area’s Lingít culture.
“Tlingit & Haida remains committed to our co-stewardship agreement with the USDA Forest Service, signed on September 29, 2023, for the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area,” a statement issued Thursday by the tribal council noted. “As we continue to support this partnership, we are actively recruiting for positions for the 2025 season.”
The U.S. Forest Service has seen the most firings of probationary employees — about 3,400 — of any federal agency, according to the Times, although the newspaper noted its tally is changing rapidly as additional firings become known. That total represents nearly 10% of the agency’s staff. Of those, more than 100 people were reportedly Tongass region employees.
Similar questions about impacts are being asked across a broad range of federally funded entities at the local, state, tribal and national levels. Common answers are there’s too much uncertainty to know — especially with many more firings expected — and too much fear for people to speak publicly.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
