Ahead of National Park Week, New Mexico Rep. Gabe Vasquez & National Park Advocates Warn of Staffing Crisis
As Millions of Americans Head to Public Lands, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and Vet Voice Foundation Call Out Dangerous Staffing Cuts and Political Interference in Park Operations, Oppose Public Lands Sell-off
Full Recording and Transcript Can Be Found Here
Washington, DC — New Mexico Rep. Gabe Vasquez, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and Vet Voice Foundation this morning warned that national parks are barreling toward a staffing and safety crisis just as the holiday weekend, National Park Week, and summer travel season begin.
The groups sounded the alarm on the Trump administration’s dangerous staffing cuts, hiring freeze, and political interference that threatens the safety of families visiting our national parks. As part of ongoing budget negotiations, some congressional Republicans have also proposed selling off public lands to help fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Public lands sell-off means that Americans could lose access to millions of acres of our national public lands forever.
“New Mexicans cherish our public lands — they’re part of our identity, economy, and way of life,” said Rep. Gabe Vasquez. “The reckless gutting of our land management agencies isn’t just bureaucratic mismanagement — it’s a direct attack on rural communities and the places we love. Families visiting national parks this weekend will see firsthand the importance of these special places. But instead of standing up for our parks, our workers, and the millions of Americans who use them, DOGE and this Administration are focused on privatizing our public lands to give tax giveaways for billionaires. We won’t stand for it.”
Rangers and maintenance crews are already stretched thin. The latest round of resignations, seasonal hiring delays, and attempts to fire probationary employees threaten to leave parks critically short-staffed. Starting soon, more than 3,000 additional Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service employees could be placed on administrative leave, exacerbating an already dire staffing situation. Meanwhile, park leadership must now seek Washington’s approval before adjusting operations — a risky and unrealistic demand as emergencies arise.
“As we head into the holiday weekend, and the start of National Park Week – and with the busy summer season on the horizon — the current Administration is trying to assure Americans that despite their actions to gut the federal workforce, national parks are operating as normal. Don’t believe their spin. It could not be further from the truth,” said Emily Thompson, Executive Director, Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. “Even before the Trump Administration’s efforts to eliminate an unprecedented number of positions in parks and programs across the country, national parks and offices were already understaffed, with NPS employees asked to do more and more with less. These recent cuts have made a bad situation far worse. And visitors at parks this weekend, and throughout the summer, will feel the impacts.”
“America’s National Parks are the crown jewel of our nation. They protect and celebrate the amazing ecological and cultural diversity we’ve all come to recognize as the very definition of what America is. And now we see that definition being dismantled and changed without any plan to care for our country,” said Gregg Bafundo, recently fired Wilderness Ranger with U.S. Forest Service and member of Vet Voice Foundation (VVF). “DOGE has taken it upon itself to fire the stewards of our parks and national forests, many like me are veterans. People who put on a uniform not for profit or political gain but to protect the very dirt our country is built on. The chaos that now reigns within our land management agencies has been purposefully created in order to support misguided efforts to sell our shared lands. Lands that have no political bias. They are neither red nor blue, left or right, they are there for us all to enjoy. I strongly encourage this administration to see beyond the ‘development potential’ of these magical places and recognize that their greatest value is that they belong to us all equally.”
Park visitation has surged in recent years, with 331 million people visiting national parks in 2024 alone and more than 20 parks breaking visitation records in 2023. Yet staffing has not kept pace. Between 2011 and 2023, the National Park Service lost roughly 15% of its workforce due to budget caps. Most recently, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency implemented another wave of personnel and funding cuts, targeting frontline staff and forcing land management agencies to eliminate critical seasonal positions ahead of peak visitor season.
As a result, visitors this season should expect longer entrance lines, closed campgrounds and programs, unsanitary restrooms, overflowing trash bins, and limited ranger availability. Advocates are urging Congress to reject the administration’s efforts to politicize park management and invest in the workforce our parks — and visitors — depend on.
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