Montana PBS Reports: IMPACT “Forest Service Cuts and Loneliness in Rural Montana”

Montana PBS Reports: IMPACT “Forest Service Cuts and Loneliness in

Rural Montana” Thursday February 27, 2025

Montana PBS Reports is the News/Public Affairs series covering topics important

to Montanans. A team of correspondents travel Montana cities and small towns

to provide in-depth reporting and investigative research focusing on the people

affected by these issues.

In this episode, more uncertainty for the federal workforce appears to be on the

horizon. But the U.S. Forest Service was already grappling with an unrelated

hiring freeze instituted this past fall that cut their seasonal workforce.

“A significant amount of winter recreation is also dependent on seasonal

employees”, says Hilary Eisen of Winter Wildlands Alliance.

Montana PBS Journalist, Aj Williams looks out how that freeze is already

affecting Montana’s outdoor recreation.

Also, after over a year the U.S. Surgeon General declared isolation and

loneliness a national epidemic, we look at how communities are combating the

growing issue among seniors in Montana. Montana PBS Journalist, Hannah

Kearse visited the Rocky Mountain Development Council Agency on Aging and

spoke with staff about the importance of senior centers across the state—

particularly in rural areas and the struggle to obtain funding to keep them

going.

To learn more about Montana PBS Reports: IMPACT, visit mtpbsreports.org

Viewers can watch live on February 27, 2025, at 7pm on Montana PBS broadcast

channels, 

https://watch.montanapbs.org/show/montana-pbs-reports-impact/