STORY: :: File
At Yosemite National Park in California the workforce is stretched so thin this season that nearly all staffers, including scientists, are required to take turns checking people in and cleaning campground toilets, according to two people familiar with conditions there.
It’s a reflection of a severe worker shortage in national parks across the country, which have been under budget and understaffed for years…
…but has been made worse by cuts to the federal workforce by President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency – a key player in Trump’s drive to slash federal jobs.
Kristen Brengel is a senior executive for the National Parks Conservation Association – or NPCA – a watchdog-advocacy group.
“Yosemite did not have enough staff people to keep those campgrounds open, so they’re pulling from every sector of the park to clean toilets and keep those campgrounds open. And so that’s going to be an area of potential struggle for the park services to maintain those reservations that people have all summer long…”
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The National Park Service has lost 13% of its 20,000-strong workforce since Trump took office in January, according to the NPCA.
The group attributes much of the drop to job eliminations and staff taking buyouts offered by DOGE.
The Trump administration has not provided its own figures.
The National Park Service said in an email to Reuters that park staff may be asked to take on extra roles to keep parks safe and open.
Trump’s deputy White House press secretary told Reuters the parks will be in pristine condition for visitors and that Trump is, quote, “ensuring agencies across the country run more efficiently while preserving great services for the American people.”
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Despite a public pledge by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to hire 7,700 park rangers on a seasonal basis this summer, the NPCA has information showing only 3,300 had been hired as of May 13.
Brengel said the difficulty some parks have experienced in hiring and retaining sufficient numbers of rangers and search-and-rescue personnel presents safety risks.
“…you’re seeing the parks more aggressively posting advice to visitors to bring more water, make sure they have the right gear, don’t test their bodies this summer. // The reason that they’re posting that isn’t just to give good advice, it’s to also because they’re worried about whether or not they’re going to be able to get to people in a timely way to help them.”
While Americans are increasingly divided on a range of key issues, the vast majority cherish the parks as national treasures and beloved, affordable vacation getaways.
Last year, national parks welcomed more than 331 million visitors, a new high.
