The consequences of the Trump administration firing thousands of environmental employees from the federal government could range from worsened responses to pollution to less access at national parks, former federal officials are warning.

Late last week, the administration fired thousands of “probationary” officials — those who had been employed for a relatively short period of time — at various agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Interior Department.

The EPA let nearly 400 staffers go while the Interior Department lost 2,300. That’s about 3 percent of each agency’s workforce.

While the job functions of those let go are not fully clear, former officials say the cuts could hamstring the agencies’ abilities to carry out their missions.

“The public health is going to be at risk, and certainly environmental protection,” said Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, who worked at the EPA for about 40 years.

“If there were some kind of an environmental incident, if it was another East Palestine train wreck. We just had the wildfires in California. … It's going to be difficult to mount a federal response to help out, and that's going to put a huge added burden on states who are already under-resourced to deal with these things,” she said.

The EPA said last week that the firings came after “a thorough review of agency functions in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders.”

“EPA........

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