Effigy Mounds workers fired amid federal cuts

At least two National Park Service employees in Iowa were abruptly fired last week amid President Donald Trump's ongoing purge of federal workers to limit government spending.

One was Brian Gibbs, 41, an educational technician at Effigy Mounds National Monument, near Harpers Ferry in far Northeast Iowa, whose story has been widely shared on social media.

"It's been a really special place for a long time for people of many cultural backgrounds," Gibbs told The Gazette of the national monument. "Losing a person who is educating people about the significance of that is heartbreaking."

The site contains the largest known concentration of American Indian burial mounds. There are more than 200. It was preserved by President Harry Truman in 1949 and has since doubled in size to about 2,500 acres along the Mississippi River.

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Gibbs, who for eight months had developed educational programs for the site and worked to draw more visitors, said he was one of two people at the park who were fired Friday afternoon at the conclusion of their work days.

Susan Snow, the superintendent of the park, declined to comment about the situation but said the office's hours of operation will not immediately change. The staff — which includes seven full-time employees — will attempt to accommodate all requests for school trips or guided tours, she said.

"We have a very dedicated staff here and we will continue to offer as many services as we can," Snow said.

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It's unclear whether there were job cuts at Iowa’s other federal park office at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch. Its museum is closed under summer 2026 while it undergoes a $20.3 million renovation. Its superintendent did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

About 1,000 full-time park service employees across the county were fired last week, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocate for national parks. A statement from Theresa Pierno, president of the association, said the move "is reckless and could have serious public safety and health consequences."

"Years of budget cuts are already weakening the agency's ability to protect and preserve these incredible places," she said.

Cuts targeted probationary workers

Gibbs, paid about $22 an hour, said he and the other fired employee — whom he declined to identify — were relatively new to the Effigy Mounds office and had probationary status, during which they are subject to reviews and potential terminations for poor performance. But his latest appraisal noted he "exceeds expectations," Gibbs said.

Gibbs had heard from his superintendent that probationary parks employees across the country might be fired. He had hoped that his positive job review would spare him.

But then he lost access to office files about 90 minutes before the end of his work day Friday. Shortly thereafter, his email stopped working.

"At that point it felt like the writing was on the wall," said Gibbs, who lives in Elkader with his pregnant wife and 4-year-old son. "I was horrified in that moment."

He said Snow sent him a text message shortly after 4 p.m. as he was cleaning out his desk that said she had received a copy of his termination letter. It had also been emailed to Gibbs — to the work account to which he had lost access.

The letter from National Park Service headquarters claimed he was being fired for poor performance.

"The department determined that you have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because your subject matter knowledge, skills and abilities do not meet the department's current needs," according to the letter, which was signed by Lena McDowall, a deputy director of management and administration for the National Park Service.

Gibbs gathered his belongings and went to his car, where he penned a poem about his firing.

“I am a voice for 19 American Indian cultures,” he wrote in part of the composition. “I am the protector of 2500 year old American Indian burial and ceremonial mounds. But, he later noted, ”I am tired from weeks of being bullied and censored by billionaires.“

He is unsure how to proceed. It's unclear whether there is a possibility to be reinstated.

"That's my dream job, being a ranger at this federal monument," Gibbs said. "I would go back there in a heartbeat."

Comments: (319) 368-8541; jared.strong@thegazette.com