Forest Service says staffing cuts have reduced visitor services; Johnson Ridge road repair targeted for 2026 construction

Mount Saint Helens District Ranger John Gellings told the Skamania County Board of Commissioners on March 18, 2026, that recent federal staff reductions have reduced the district’s capacity to staff visitor centers and support some field operations.

Gellings said the Johnson Ridge Observatory and other visitor services are affected because State Route 504 has been closed since a landslide in May 2023. Staff who normally rotate between Johnson Ridge and the Coldwater Science and Learning Center are currently operating out of the science and learning center while the district and partner organizations create a shared staffing schedule.

The staffing shortage is the immediate operational issue. "We lost here at Mount Saint Helens 3 of our permanent year round staff," Gellings said. He told commissioners the district is also uncertain about several permanent-seasonal hires and that national staffing decisions have created additional hurdles for hiring seasonal and temporary personnel.

Why it matters: reduced visitor-center hours and fewer on-site staff can affect public access, interpretive services and fee collection. Gellings said interpretive services are a requirement under the monument authority the district manages and that fees collected at staffed sites flow into a recreation-fees account the Forest Service can use for future staffing and site maintenance.

Details and local impacts

- Staffing: Gellings said the district had 48 staff at the height of the last summer season. He confirmed the loss of three permanent, year-round positions at Mount Saint Helens: the front-desk position, the front-desk backup and a maintenance position that supported visitor centers. He said the district has roughly five permanent-seasonal non-fire positions under review, and four of those had previously held red-card wildfire qualifications.

- Visitor operations: Because SR 504 remains closed, staff are operating out of the Coldwater Science and Learning Center; the district is working with at least five partners — including Mount Saint Helens Institute and Discover Your Northwest — to build a schedule that could allow seven-day-a-week coverage, but Gellings said the district cannot guarantee that level of service yet.

- Emergency operations and logistics: Commissioners pressed how lost front-desk staff affect wildfire and logistics support. Gellings confirmed some front-desk and interpretive staff held red cards and supported wildfire response or equipment tracking; losing those positions complicates purchasing and equipment logistics but does not mean the district cannot respond to wildfire incidents.

- Facilities and local options: Commissioners asked about using Pine Creek or other local compounds as interim sites. Gellings said Pine Creek is an option under discussion but that the district must balance where to place limited staff and how to maintain required interpretive and fee-collection services. He also discussed coordination with local EMS and sheriff’s offices around using the Pine Creek compound as a hub.

Road repair timeline

Gellings said design and permitting for repairs to the Johnson Ridge access on State Route 504 should be complete this summer. He said contract procurement is expected after design and permitting, with construction slated for summer 2026 and a target window to reopen for public use around the eruption anniversary in May 2027. He cautioned that state funding uncertainty and construction-season limits could affect that schedule.

What’s next

Gellings offered to provide more detailed staffing counts to the commissioners. Commissioners said they will pursue a face-to-face meeting this spring with the Forest Service, local emergency services and other partners to coordinate communications, frequencies and pre-season planning.