Furloughed feds pick up Seattle beach trash to keep serving the public John Ryan October 24, 2025 / 5:56 pm

Furloughed federal employees were out in the rain picking up cigarette butts, bottle caps, and other trash at Seattle’s Golden Gardens Park on Friday.

Their sodden volunteerism was part of a national week of service for civil servants prevented from doing their jobs by the federal government shutdown.

Rather than professional skills, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used tongs to keep pollution from entering Puget Sound and harming things like salmon and orcas, which their agency is responsible for protecting.

Other members of International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers Local 8a, a union that represents NOAA employees, v

See Full Page