Ben Vizzachero, a recently terminated federal biologist with the U.S. Forest Service, joined demonstrators in Los Osos protesting the President Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency head, Elon Musk.
Photos by Theresa-Marie Wilson
On December 24, 2024, Benjamin Vizzachero, a federal biologist with the U.S. Forest Service based in the Los Padres National Forest, received his first-year performance appraisal — it had checkmarks in all the right places.
In part, it stated “Ben worked hard to learn and assist in managing the Wildlife program. When the Wildlife Program lead position became vacant, Ben worked even harder to take on additional responsibilities. He worked to organize and coordinate the wildlife biologists on the forest, keep several consultations on track, and initiate/process multiple emergency consultations. Over the year he has invested time to learn the policies, apply that knowledge to requests, and provide guidance to leadership. He is receptive to feedback, driven to meet deadlines, and learns quickly. His hard work has been greatly appreciated!”
On February 14, 2025, following President Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to reduce the federal government, Vizzachero received a termination letter.
“I got a letter stating that my termination was performance related, which is insulting to all the hard work that me and my coworkers put in,” Vizzachero told Estero Bay News. “I received a raise and a promotion two weeks before I got terminated. I received a positive performance evaluation and a small bonus for my work.”
The letter stated he was let go halfway through his 2-year probationary period because, “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest. For this reason, the Agency informs you that the Agency is removing you from your position of WLDLF BIOLGST with the Agency and the federal civil service effective immediately.”
Vizzachero, who lives in Santa Ynez and was stationed in Solvang, joined a couple hundred demonstrators on the four corners at the intersection of Los Osos Valley Road and South Bay Boulevard on March 1. Las Padres National Forest spans two million acres that includes parts of SLO County. He was working on fire safety projects building fuel breaks that help manage wildfires by reducing combustible vegetation.
The protest was the second one organized in conjunction with the national grassroots organization Indivisible. The first was part of the “Not My President” protest on February 17.
At the recent protest, much like the first, people waved signs decrying the current administration and chanted in support of democracy while drivers sounded horns in approval with some shouting gratitude for the demonstrators.
Vizzachero was one of five employees let go from Los Padres out of an estimated 3,400 U.S. Forest Service workers across the nation who were laid off.
“It’s really slowed us down in terms of workload,” Vizzachero said of the layoff. “They’re scrambling to find other people to take over projects. Some of the people that were lost were real heavy hitters including recreation technicians — the people that pick-up trash, keep the roads and the trails drivable, report safety issues, and help emergency management and archeologists. We weren’t even hit as bad as some of our neighboring forests, like Sequoia [National Forrest]. A lot of forests lost a third of their staff or more.”
Other positions lost within Los Padres include an archeologist, two recreation technicians and a staff member who oversees permits.
“People don’t understand that it took years for Los Padres to reach its staffing levels,” Vizzachero said. “It had been chronically understaffed since the Bush era. A lot of people are frustrated by access issues, roads and trails that are closed, and we were just finally starting to catch up on all that deferred maintenance, when these terminations, and staff and budget cuts, came raining down on us. We’re losing our nonprofit partners, we’re losing contractors, we’re losing people at every level, and everything that the Los Padres provides for the community is going to get worse.”
Those partnerships include, among others, the Santa Barbara Zoo, the National Audubon Society, and the Xerces Society, which protects invertebrates such as the monarch butterfly, and their habitat.
“I was so excited about all these partnerships and projects in the pipeline,” Vizzachero said. “A year of my work, but also years of work of the people who came before me, just got ripped away. I see how beautiful this place is, and I was so proud to be a part of protecting it and conserving it.
“Public lands should be a bipartisan issue. Whether you’re a hunter, a fisherman, a hiker, a biker, or an off roader — no matter what your lifestyle is, you benefit. We need a stronger leadership. We need to build a bipartisan alliance to protect our communities from the intentional dismantling of the public land system that makes America beautiful.”
The Indivisible website describes itself as a “grassroots movement of thousands of local Indivisible groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda” For more information, go to Indivisible.org.
