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Delayed for now, ex-leaders say cuts to the Interior Department would be disastrous

By Kirk Siegler

Published October 22, 2025 at 6:57 AM EDT

A judge has temporarily paused a reduction-in-force plan for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Former department leaders say the cuts will be devastating to public lands.

Kirk Siegler

As a correspondent on NPR's national desk, Kirk Siegler covers rural life, culture and politics from his base in Boise, Idaho.

Stories From This Author

Here's why Trump's promised logging boom faces headwinds

Kirk Siegler

President Trump is trying to reverse the Clinton era rule that puts 59 million acres of National Forest lands off limits to timber harvest and other development. America's timber industry may not see the boom many conservatives expect.
Retired federal land managers say that partisan shutdown language is chilling

Kirk Siegler

A federal union argues that Trump administration language posted on federal agency websites and some emails blaming a shutdown on the "Radical Left Democrats" violates a 1939 federal law.
The White House wants to fast track its rescission of some national forest rules

Kirk Siegler

The U.S. Forest Service is trying to fast track the rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule, which banned logging and new roadbuilding in 58 million acres of national forests. But it won't be easy.