Thirty-seven West Virginia foresters will keep their jobs, for the time being.
State Personnel Board members voted unanimously Thursday to postpone a plan to lay off the workers from the Division of Forestry. The vote followed passionate pleas from the foresters who fight fires, manage timber and inspect logging operations.
"It's wrong what they're trying to do to us. It's just wrong," said Matt Cook, a 16-year Forestry division employee. "It's a kick in the gut."
The foresters are set to lose their jobs on June 30, after state lawmakers rejected a proposal to restore $1.7 million to the agency earlier this year. The Legislature approved a proposed state budget Tuesday. Foresters received layoff notices the following day.
"We have 37 people who may lose their jobs because the budget is rushed through at the last minute," said Mark Carbone, a Personnel Board member. "I think it's a travesty, and more study needs to be done."
About 70 foresters, dressed in uniform, marched Thursday from Laidley Field to the state Capitol Complex, where the Personnel Board was meeting to decide their fate.
Each of the workers on the layoff list stated their name, job title, years of service with the agency and counties they're assigned to watch over.
The foresters described the backbreaking and dangerous work that they do, climbing steep ridges to battle fires, staying on the job through the middle of the night, making sure loggers follow the rules.
West Virginia is the third most-forested state in the continental U.S.
"We're from this state," said Cook. "We love this state."
Foresters said West Virginia is overdue for a bad fire season. This year, Forestry employees put out more than 500 fires that covered 12,000 acres.
"There's a lot of fuel on the ground, and when it catches on fire, it's going to rip up the hill, and it's going to burn hot, and it's going to burn long, and it's going to be hard to control," Cook said.
Cook looked at Personnel Board members who sat at a table at the front of the room.
"Any of you fought fires?" he asked.
Cook also questioned Forestry chief Randy Dye, who drew up the layoff list. The affected employees work in the field. Office administrators were spared from the cuts.
"Have you ever fought a fire, Randy?" Cook asked.
Dye didn't answer.
Foresters urged the Personnel Board to "send a message" to lawmakers.
"It's our legislators failing us," Cook said. "They do a bunch of stuff that doesn't matter, get paid for a 60-day session, during which they didn't do their job and pass a budget, but they'll fire 37 people because it's convenient. That's just wrong."
No legislators attended Thursday's meeting.
Timber industry leaders and wildlife advocates spoke out in favor of the foresters keeping their jobs.
"These layoffs could be very detrimental to the forestry industry in West Virginia," said Anthony Raines, a logger and vice chairman of the West Virginia Loggers Council. "We need these guys. Shifting their responsibilities to another agency is not going to work."
Earlier this week, state officials suggested that the Department of Environmental Protection could pick up some of Forestry's inspection duties. State law might prevent that, though, industry officials told the Personnel Board.
For years, timber industry severance taxes funded the Division of Forestry's budget. In 2010, the state government eliminated a portion of the severance tax earmarked for the agency, but appropriated General Revenue funds to make up the difference.
The timber industry still paid a separate severance tax to help retire the state's workers' compensation debt. After paying off the debt, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin proposed a 2.78 percent severance tax to fully fund the Forestry division during this year's legislative session.
In late February, lawmakers passed a 1.5 percent logging severance tax (SB 419), leaving a $1.7 million hole in the agency's budget. Timber industry lobbyists opposed the higher severance tax.
Personnel Board members aren't scheduled to meet again until next month, but they could convene an emergency meeting. Board members said they didn't want to make a hasty decision. They want the layoff proposal researched and analyzed.
"I love this state, and I love the forest," Carbone said. "If we're going to jeopardize that, we need to explore every option."
State forestry division officials said Thursday night that they've asked board members to reconsider their decision. For every month the 37 employees remain on the state payroll, three more foresters will have to be terminated, said Chelsea Ruby, an agency spokeswoman.
"We recognize the hardship that the proposed layoffs will cause, and we regret it immensely, but the Legislature has made its decision," Ruby said. "When the Legislature chooses not to fund a government agency at its current level, then basic math dictates that the agency cannot maintain its current level of employment."
Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.