The U.S. Forest Service has settled a lawsuit with eight former and current workers from Bighorn National Forest who suffered on-the-job retaliation after complaining about hostile working conditions and questionable forest-management practices. The $200,000 settlement will be divided among the whistleblowers, but the USFS will not discipline the managers who were responsible for the retaliatory acts. Nine years ago, the workers raised alarms about Forest Supervisor Larry Keown and other managers, saying they allowed ranchers to overgraze public land, failed to meet the goals of reforestation plans, and green-lighted timber harvests in the absence of environmental impact studies. In the end, just two of the whistleblowers remained on the job, after reorganizations they say were clearly designed to oust them.
