DULUTH — It’s unclear how many Superior National Forest employees lost their jobs this week.

Several hundred U.S. Forest Service employees manage forestry, law enforcement, fire management and other responsibilities across the 3 million-acre national forest in Northeastern Minnesota, which also includes the

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

A spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the umbrella agency that includes the Forest Service, told the News Tribune on Wednesday that the jobs of “2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service” were eliminated as part of President Donald Trump’s “directive to improve government, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen USDA’s many services to the American people.”

When asked again about how many were Superior National Forest employees, the spokesperson said, “I am afraid that this is all I have to share at this time. Please do check back soon and I may have more to share then.”

The Forest Service Council, the union representing many National Forest employees, had a higher estimate of agency employees out of a job. Dennis Lapcewich, the union’s communications chair and the council vice president for the union’s locals in Washington, D.C., told the News Tribune that 3,400 Forest Service workers — about 10% of the total workforce — were cut.

On Tuesday, Lapcewich said he was unsure of the number of affected Superior National Forest workers. The agency wasn’t sharing specific information, and he hadn’t heard from local officers or stewards.

News of Forest Service layoffs surfaced last week when the deadline for the Trump administration’s offer to federal employees to resign but continue to collect paychecks through September expired.

“Right now, the focus is what’s coming out of the White House, and whoever is bowing down to (Trump) — I have no problem being blunt. They are decimating the federal government,” Lapcewich said.

The effects of the layoffs ahead of the camping and Boundary Waters canoe season is unclear.

One career federal employee in northern Minnesota, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, said the notion that probationary employees were new to the federal government or inexperienced is misleading.

Employees with decades of governmental experience could return to probationary status if they change jobs within an agency, take a job at a different federal agency or are promoted to a management position.

“Some probationary employees recently completed their military service and want to continue serving the nation as a civilian,” the employee said.

Jimmy Lovrien covers environment-related issues, including mining, energy and climate, for the Duluth News Tribune. He can be reached at jlovrien@duluthnews.com or 218-723-5332.