Upside down the US flag in Yosemite National Park with signs of “pain” is a call for the action to protect public lands from privatization and revive thousands of federal workers who have been recently fired He said that.
Dismissals in national parks and forests are not only confused and worried about workers, but also worried about the future of American public lands, and they cut privatize millions of acres of wilderness. I fear it will be the first step.
“It’s clear they’re trying to destabilize and decentralize,” says Andria, a laid back Yosemite employee, including research into the endangered species Fisher, a small, carnivorous cousin of otters. Townsend said. “That’s how we lose public land and start extracting resources.”
The upside-down flag was hung on Saturday from the top of Yosemite’s iconic El Pitan. Elpitan is a 3,000-foot vertical rock formation that causes gusts of winds to visitors each year in February and witnesses “fires.” It gives off an orange lava-like glow on the sides, at sunset.
The US flag, upside down, is hanging down in protest at El Capitan in Yosemite. (NBC Bay Area)
“That’s a big statement,” said Olek Chumura, a former Yosemite custody who was fired this month. “It’s always a sign that the country is suffering, and falling on a horse over the weekend is to tell people to wake up and look around.”
Chmura, who didn’t take part in the flag, was among the 1,000 National Park Service employees who were fired on February 14th.
Chmura, a plumber from training, said he loved his work despite his focus on public services and earning more money in the private sector.
While visiting Yosemite over the weekend, Chmura said that the other facilities were too dirty and forced to use the bathroom in the broken lock. The lock was broken because the park’s only locksmith was recently fired, he said.
“We were already unpopular,” said Chmura, who estimated Yosemite lost 11 employees in the cuts. “And that’s not even the peak of the travel season.”
The U.S. Department of Interior, which manages the National Park Service, did not respond to a request for comment, but agency manager Doug Burgham recently said the Trump administration would open federal land to oil and gas leases. .
“We’re moving very quickly,” he said.
Bulgham ordered officials this month to consider redrawing and redrawing the boundaries of the national monument created under the previous president. Among the most at-risk sites are two Utah sites. The grand staircase holds uranium-rich bear ears and large coal – escalante.
A White House spokesperson said in a previous statement that “we will continue to protect America’s abundant natural resources while streamlining federal agencies to better serve the people of America.”
“In his first term, President Trump proved that environmental management and economic greatness are closely linked,” it said.
Townsend, who was fired during her probationary period, said unlike most federal jobs, her position was funded through grants.
“One dime of taxpayer money hasn’t been saved by firing me,” she said, adding that she has been suffering and isolated for almost two weeks since she lost her job.
Townsend said he felt a spark of hope after seeing the US flag fall hanging from Yosemite’s most popular attraction, El Capitan.
“Yosemite has the advantage that it is very well known,” she said. “When people think about national parks, they think about Yosemite, so we really have the leverage to make a difference.”
Townsend joined the roughly 100 people who protested at the park on Saturday, retaining signs of asking employees to be rehired, and public land remained off limits to private interests.
The organizers of Saturday’s protests said she was a former ranger who didn’t want to use her name because she wanted her to be rehired, and people roared and cheered as the flag spread upside down. I said that.
Some people were troubled by the exhibit, calling it unpatriotic and complaining about it, hindering the waterfall’s views, while others said it would be visiting the national park with their families. He said he touched memories.
“People are standing up, people are listening,” Ranger said. “We’re going to keep fighting. Federal employees from all agencies are important.”
This story first appeared on nbcnews.com. More from NBC News:
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