OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A week after Governor Kevin Stitt fired the state forester, he's now suggesting cutting the entire forestry department. Oklahoma Forestry Services said they did everything they could to stop the devastation. "Why do I even have a Department of Forestry? Let's just get rid of the whole thing," said Governor Kevin Stitt on Wednesday. The governor suggested the state cut the department after he fired the head forester, Mark Goeller, following the devastating wildfires on March 14th. Assistant Director and Forest Management Chief Craig Marquardt said Goeller was a great leader. "Duty, respect and integrity were key words in his leadership style and he passed that onto us," said Marquardt. Governor Kevin Stitt claims resources weren't used properly. "If all the resources were spent, we get it. There was just a lot of fires going on. But that wasn't the case," said the Governor. "We still haven't been able to figure out where they were during that thing." "There were so many fires that day. We had all our resources obligated. I don't know what we would've done differently," said Marquardt. The forestry division, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, is in charge of many different tasks, like managing forests, trees, and forested properties, prescribed burns, water quality, forestry testing, and of course helping to prevent and maintain wildfires. Gov. Stitt wants to get rid of forestry department after deadly fires In the days leading up to the March 14 wildfires, Marquardt said they worked closely with their teams and meteorologists. "Our predictive services put us right in the places where we thought we needed to be. And we were there," he said. "If they need resources we send them until we have no more. When we have no more there's nothing much we can do." Now, the governor is directing Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur to figure out what could've been done differently. "We've been working with her to get responses to the questions that the governor has," said Marquardt. "I don't know how you contain hurricane force winds. It was almost a perfect storm of issues going around," said Gene Blankenship, the deputy director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association, which represents state employees. Early Thursday morning, Blankenship sent News 4 the following statement. The ongoing threat of dismantling state agencies demonstrates a clear lack of prioritization for state employees and their families. Reducing state jobs diminishes the quality of state services which only hurts Oklahoma communities. State employees should not have to live under the umbrella of job insecurity based on the shifts in political climate. This is Oklahoma not Washington D.C.  When a person thinks of not receiving their next pay check then it creates a major burden for a family that reaches to the children, how does this create a strong workforce? The timing of these comments to shut down the Department of Forestry is particularly concerning, given that we haven't yet reached the hottest part of the year and are recovering from numerous wildfire emergencies across the state. Will Oklahoma Insurance rates sky rocket due to the major loss of the certified trained firefighters being removed along with the entire Department of Forestry? We will not forget that we are currently dealing with the loss of the highly respected Forestry leader Mark Goeller. While anti-state employee rhetoric seems prevalent, the state's monthly loss of hundreds of state employees is a clear signal that workers are not happy about how they are treated. It cost thousands of dollars to train a replacement employee which underscores the significant loss of institutional knowledge and experience leaving state service.  Instead of more cuts to cause greater burdens upon the existing workforce we should recognize the current front line workers who are out fighting fires risking their lives for us all, those who have served Oklahoma citizens, especially during the most vulnerable times. The dedicated workforce of the Oklahoma Forestry Service, supports hundreds of volunteer departments throughout the state, with many of those firefighters being state employees volunteering their time and effort to support their communities without seeking recognition. They all deserve our support and respect. The Oklahoma Public Employees Association stands with the Department of Forestry and its many dedicated state employees, and their families. Gene Blankenship, Deputy Director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association Blankenship said employees are scared of losing their paycheck after fighting on the front lines. "They do a fantastic job. And so they need support. They need stepping stones built for them, not stumbling blocks put in their way," said Blankenship. He said the scare tactics will result in even more employees leaving. "I don't know that you can run a workforce based off of fear and intimidation," said Blankenship. ...read more read less