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NPS and USFS Protest at César Chávez NM Today with Photos! [1]
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Date: 2025-03-01
A few of the characters showing solidarity today. Fernando is 2nd from right.
[Here’s an update to my recent post about the devastating staff cuts to the National Park Service and the US Forest Service.]
Daniel Romero, above, marched with César Chávez back in the day, so when a nationwide protest against recent cuts to the national parks & US forest service popped up today at noon, of course, he came wearing his ‘¡Si, Se Puede!’ T-shirt. He knows from experience that predicting protest turnout is a fool’s game, but instead of the expected 3, there were around 20, even at a very small national monument in a rural area best known for a loop of track for trains to change elevation to traverse the Tehachapi pass.
Another protester was one Fernando Chávez, a grandson of César, who discussed the need for solidarity, coalition building, and activism at the base of the old oak tree next to Martyr’s Garden, where his grandparents lie at rest. The young and old activists’ words had echoes of the history of the iconic farm workers’ march from Delano to Sacramento in 1966. “We’ve been protesting forever”, said Romero, decrying the “arrogance” of rich people running roughshod over workers now, as then. “Even though we are sometimes excluded, we have always tried to support each others’ causes”, said Chávez, recounting how spontaneous protests recently broke out after a particularly brutal raid by ICE near Bakersfield. Fernando still helps the United Farm Workers. Daniel listed the various unions that traveled across country and marched with them, describing diverse families marching together and even weddings during the boycott and strike.
This was an early park visit for me, as it’s local. Unlike my quiet visit 3 years ago, folks here today were sad, angry and surprised by the chaotic decisions to cut 1,000 NPS staff and 10% of the USFS. One employee here had just transferred from New Mexico when his job was axed by Elon Musk. Many of those affected were young, promising staffers, full of optimism. Supposedly he is scrambling to get the transfer reversed to stay employed. While there may be some cost savings, in the long run, the work these folks do protects and adds a lot of value to our country, so cutting when hiring is needed is counterproductive. I felt the need to apologize for still driving a Tesla, but folks understood, knowing others who are now trying to unload theirs. I’m keeping mine, as the climate crisis is going to get worse, despite efforts to delete the word climate from government documents.
Most of this story is also posted on my ad-free blog, with a 5 second video, if interested. If anyone else was able to attend a parks protest, please let me know in the comments, thanks!
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/1/2307233/-NPS-and-USFS-Protest-at-C-sar-Ch-vez-NM-Today-with-Photos?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
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