After firing hundreds of FAA air traffic controllers and personnel earlier this week – and as protests south of the border grow – the Trump administration has set its sites on the US National Park Service, dismissing about 1,000 permanent employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other functions – a move critics says will hurt tourism.
The firings, which weren’t publicly announced but were confirmed by Democratic senators and House members, come amid what has been a chaotic rollout of an aggressive program to eliminate thousands of federal jobs.
Park advocates say the permanent staff cuts will leave hundreds of national parks – including some of the most well-known and most heavily visited sites – understaffed and facing tough decisions about operating hours, public safety and resource protection.
“Fewer staff means shorter visitor centre hours, delayed openings and closed campgrounds,” said Kristen Brengel, Sr. VP of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group.
Trash will pile up, restrooms won’t be cleaned, and maintenance problems will grow, she predicted. Guided tours will be cut back or cancelled and, in the worst cases, public safety could be at risk.
The Trump administration’s actions “are pushing an already overwhelmed Park Service to its breaking point,” Brengel said. “And the consequences will be felt in our parks for years.”
“They’re basically knee-capping the very people who need to train seasonal” employees who work as park rangers, maintenance staff and trail managers, Brengel said in an interview. “It puts the park in an untenable position. You’re going to hurt tourism.”
The firings may force small parks to close visitor centres and other facilities, while larger parks will have to function without cultural resources workers who help visitors interpret the park, fee collectors and even wastewater treatment operators, she said.
A freeze on spending under a five-year-old law signed by Trump also jeopardizes national parks, advocates said. The Great American Outdoors Act, passed with bipartisan support in 2020 and signed by Trump, authorizes $6.5 billion over five years to maintain and improve national parks.
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