Community members from across Grand County traveled to Winter Park on a snowy Presidents Day to rally in support of public lands.

Attendees held up signs touting the importance of protecting public lands, such as national forests, parks and ski areas. The signs also decried recent layoffs of federal land management employees ordered by the Trump administration.

Some cars honked in support as rallygoers chanted on the corner of U.S. Highway 40 and Vasquez Road.

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“The signs were really about solidarity and trying to show support for the employees,” said Meara McQuain, executive director and president of the Headwaters Trails Alliance. “To just really highlight the importance of public lands in our community.”

McQuain helped organize the rally. She said the event was actually “positive and jovial” amid anxieties over impacts to public lands.

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“What’s happening is so hard,” she said. “It was really nice for everyone who was there to actually feel like they were doing something right instead of just letting this thing happen.”

McQuain said people from Grand Lake, Granby, Kremmling and the Fraser Valley took time out of their day to attend the rally, which lasted from 10 a.m. to noon. The nearby Viking Lodge offered coffee and a place to warm up.

“There were people from across the county who were committed to this cause on a powder day, on a holiday,” she said. “These were people who really wanted to be there.”

Federal cuts

The terminations, part of the president’s executive order issued Feb. 11, impacted employees of federal organizations, including the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Parks Service.

According to executive order 14210, federal agency heads “shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force.”

The order, known as “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” has resulted in the loss of about 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees, including 90 in Colorado. These numbers are according to a statement issued by Gov. Jared Polis on Feb. 14.

McQuain said there is a lot of uncertainty about how many public lands employees might lose their jobs in Grand County, where the Sulphur Ranger District manages Forest Service land. McQuain said a “skeleton crew” of 13 works for the district. That is due in part to policies enacted before the Trump administration, such as a hiring freeze announced in September 2024.

McQuain said any additional reductions of employees who manage public lands in Grand County would be catastrophic. The county is composed of nearly 75% public lands and is home to Rocky Mountain National Park.

On the same day as the Winter Park rally, Estes Park residents held a rally at the east entrance to Rocky in support of National Park rangers faced with job cuts.

McQuain said the day created empowerment and togetherness for the community.

“We’re gonna actually stand up to this thing,” McQuain said. “We’re not gonna let our economy and our livelihoods — the reason we live up here — be changed and not speak up about it.”