Born and raised on the Eastern Plains, a Colorado biologist finds herself in DOGE-induced limbo
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ROCKY FORD, Colo. — “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.”
This is what Katie Merewether, a Colorado state biologist, read at around 8 p.m. Thursday, February 13. The next day, she returned to the Natural Resources Conservation Service office near her home in Rocky Ford and turned in her work belongings.
“They did not even ask my supervisor, who would have told them that I had a good six month employee review,” said Merewether, 31. “In fact, I got the honor of calling my own supervisor and letting him know that I had been fired.”
The Trump administration's mass firings of federal workers primarily targeted probationary employees, which are often new hires or recently promoted workers. Merewether was hired last May, so she was on month nine of her 12-month probation.
Since the reinstatement ruling, Merewether said the NRCS is filling out timesheets for the fired employees, which might indicate re-employment in the future.
About a month later on March 13, Merewether learned about a federal court ruling stating that thousands of federal employees must be reinstated after being “terminated unlawfully” by the Trump administration. It is still unclear whether this ruling will affect fired Colorado NRCS workers.
Colorado NRCS did not respond to a request for comment.
On March 18, the Trump administration said that federal agencies were in the process of rehiring thousands of fired probationary workers. A few days later, President Trump asked the Supreme Court to put the federal rehiring decision on hold.
Merewether is one of about 60 Colorado NRCS workers fired February 13 (which makes up about a quarter of the state’s over 240-person workforce) now facing the question of whether to stay and wait, or to start looking for a new job.
Video: Chase McCleary, Rocky Mountain PBS
Merewether is the fourth generation in her family to call Colorado’s Eastern plains home.
“I grew up loving the Eastern plains,” said Merewether. “Not a lot of people really appreciate them, but growing up on a ranch, you really get that deep connection to the land.”
She grew up in the small township of Karval, Colorado (population about 600), where her father worked as a cattle rancher and her mother as a small animal veterinarian.
Merewether’s understanding of the balance between agriculture and the environment, underlined by hands-on learning experiences through the local Mountain Plover Festival, inspired her to pursue what became a 13-year career as a wildlife biologist.
As a wildlife partner biologist with the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies — a nonprofit that frequently works with the NRCS — Merewether partnered with agricultural workers across the Eastern plains to develop environmentally-friendly farming and ranching practices that supported both landowners and the surrounding ecology.
Merewether gradually built the résumé and the confidence to apply for an open Colorado state biologist position, a role she said felt might be out of her league.
“I was approached by my future supervisor about applying… and I think I may have laughed at the suggestion that I would be good at it,” said Merewether.
After more urging from other coworkers, she applied, and in May 2024, Merewether started in her new position, now working with organizations and agencies (like the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies) to facilitate conservation projects with private landowners.
Merewether supported preservation efforts around the highly-endangered black-footed ferret — a project now threatened by government cuts — assisted with the wolf reintroductions taking place along Western Slope and worked on the NRCS’ Emergency Watershed Protection Program, which helps landowners after natural disasters.
“I started getting worried about my position early in February,” said Merewether. “I believe as soon as the deferred resignation program came out.”
The Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) launched the “Fork in the Road” deferred resignation program at the end of January, offering over 2 million federal workers the chance to resign in exchange for full pay and benefits through September 30.
The email mirrored a similar email sent to Twitter (now X) employees after Elon Musk purchased the company in October 2022. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is leading the Trump administration’s far-reaching initiative to gut the federal government.
Merewether received the “Fork in the Road” email, but chose to stay.
“I didn’t want to resign. I actually enjoy my job,” said Merewether.
The next day, about an hour after leaving the office, a colleague texted Merewether, asking if she had also lost her job. Seeing nothing in her inbox, Merewether figured she might be safe.
An hour later, she was unemployed.
Merewether said she is already seeing the impacts of the job cuts.
“Firings hurt small towns,” said Merewether. “Economies can be very fragile in rural communities… I’ve already cut back my spending, which takes a little chunk from the grocery store, so it has ripples.”
Thomas Seaba, the director of water and wastewater for the City of La Junta, echoed these sentiments. He said that Merewether herself is an asset to the county beyond her work with the NRCS.
“These folks that are highly motivated, very well-educated, and are coming to rural parts of Colorado in a county that has been historically financially challenged,” said Seaba.
Seaba and Merewether are community theater friends, and have been for the past few years. Seaba said that individuals like Merewether, who are both committed and knowledgeable about their work, as well as active in their local communities, are vital to sustaining smaller towns.
“People like Katie establish themselves in the community, but when they lose their jobs, they start looking elsewhere, which is bad for the whole community.”
Seaba and his department are waiting on federal grants and low-interest loans that would help repair and replace aged water monitoring storage systems, all of which is on pause. He said that the federal team member they were coordinating with was lt go as well.
Tens of thousands of Coloradans work for the federal government. A majority of them live in Republican-led districts, according to data analysis from the Congressional Research Service.
While Republicans have generally supported the cuts, some members of Congress are beginning to push back. A number of Republican representatives faced significant backlash from constituents at town halls held after the decision.
Larger cities like Boulder, which houses a number of federal agencies and laboratories, are also concerned about how these cuts may impact the community.
Merewether said that while waiting to learn more, she is currently looking at other job opportunities, some of which are outside of her expertise. She worries that because she is on record for being fired due to poor performance, future applications to other government positions — if they exist — may be pushed to the bottom of the pile.
Merewether said that some federal workforce reduction might be beneficial, but that they should be conducted in accordance with the law.
If given the opportunity, Merewether said she would definitely go back. And if she is fired legally, Merewether said she will “step out the door and turn the page.”
But more than anything, Merewether said she wants certainty and closure.
“That’s all I’m looking for, I guess, is some sort of acknowledgement so that I can turn the page for myself,” said Merewether.
“We’re real people, and we wanted to do good work. That’s why we’re in these roles. And I think we ought to be treated that way.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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