The National Parks Service has felt President Trump’s efforts to reduce the federal government like almost every other federal department, and as a result, some national parks are being forced to reduce their hours.
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According to the National Parks Conservation Association, almost 400 NPS employees have taken President Trump’s buyout offer, opting to resign and receive pay through September, while another 1,000 were victim to layoffs.
While the Department of Interior has reinstated 5,000 seasonal employees and plans to reinstate another 2,000, some national parks are still suffering from staff reductions, and because of it, they won’t be able to operate under normal hours.
Among the parks to announce reduced hours includes the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado, which shared on Facebook that it will have to be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays due to lack of staffing.
At Yosemite, one of the nation’s largest and most visited national parks, many of its campgrounds will be unavailable for several weeks across June and July, which is peak visiting season.
According to KSTU, Zion National Park could soon spiral into “chaos” as the already understaffed park is now struggling without enough rangers. That news was shared with the outlet by Barbara Bruno, the mayor of Springdale, which is right outside the park’s south entrance.
While speaking with NewsNation, John Garder, a representative for the National Parks Conservation Association Government, shared that even with season staff returning, parks are bracing for what’s ahead.
“The Park Service has been given clearance to hire as many as 7,700 seasonal staff, which is a good number, but definitely not a replacement for those permanent staff that have been lost, that provide the expertise to manage those seasonals and operate parks and protect resources,” Garder said.
Garder added that those planning on visiting a national park this year should “be prepared to lower their standards.” He said that it’s likely they will face “long lines on the way into the park, dirty bathrooms, or even some closed bathrooms or visitor centers.”
For reference, the nation’s national parks have seen an increase in visits over the last few years, as in 2022, there were 13 million visits to national parks, compared to 2023 when there were 325 million.
Data from the NPS shows that those visitors spent around $26.4 billion in the gateway communities around the national parks they visited in 2023.
The agency said that the increase in visitors supported 415,000 jobs along with “$19.4 billion in labor income, $32.0 billion in value-added, and $55.6 billion in economic output in the national economy.”
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