September 25, 2025
The Honorable Doug Burgum
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington D.C., 20240
Dear Secretary Burgum:
As former superintendents of national parks across the country, we write to you with an urgent appeal to protect our parks and public lands by closing them if a government shutdown occurs.
Past shutdowns in which gates remained open with limited staff have hurt our parks: Iconic symbols cut down and vandalized, trash piled up, habitats destroyed, and visitor safety jeopardized. If you don’t act now, history is not just doomed to repeat itself, the damage could in fact be much worse.
This summer, our parks were pushed to the brink by budget cuts and staff reductions. A recent New York Times report found that at least 90 parks are already facing serious strain in an effort to comply with the directive in Secretarial Order 3426 that parks remain open and accessible to the public, despite huge reductions in the workforce.
If national parks are to be open to visitors when National Park employees are furloughed, these nascent issues from the summer season are sure to erupt. Leaving parks even partially open to the public during a shutdown with minimal—or no—park staffing is reckless and puts both visitors and park resources at risk.
National parks don’t run themselves. It is hardworking National Park Service employees that keep them safe, clean, and accessible. Park staff manage everything from routine maintenance of buildings and trails to educational programs that teach visitors how to safely and attentively engage with nature to guided tours that share the stories of our collective history. National Park Service employees study, monitor, and learn from our natural world through long term projects and research – and these projects, in addition to irreplaceable resources and habitat, are in jeopardy during a shutdown.
Americans across the country and across the political spectrum cherish our national parks and public lands. They conserve our most special sites so that everyone can hike, swim, hunt, fish, learn, and seek solace in nature. With their future already under threat, now is not the time to use the parks and public lands as pawns in political games.
As stewards of these American treasures, we urge you to prioritize both conservation and visitor safety and protect our national parks during a potential shutdown, and into the future. If sufficient staff aren’t there, visitors shouldn’t be either.
The undersigned,
Paul R. Anderson
Retired Superintendent, Denali National Park and Preserve
Robert Arnberger
Retired Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park
Marcia Blaszak
Retired Superintendent, Regional Director, Alaska
Maria Burks
Retired Superintendent, Cape Cod National Seashore
Mark Butler
Retired Superintendent, Joshua Tree National Park
Anne Castellina
Retired Superintendent, Kenai Fjords National Park
James Coleman Jr.
Retired Superintendent, Olympic National Park
Michael Creasey
Retired Superintendent, National Parks of Boston
Charles “Butch” Farabee
Retired Superintendent, Padre Island National Seashore & Glacier National Park (Acting)
Fred J. Fagergren
Retired Superintendent, Bryce Canyon National Park
Mike Finley
Retired Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park
Maureen Finnerty
Retired Superintendent, Everglades National Park
Phil Francis
Retired Superintendent, Blue Ridge Parkway
Susan L. Fritzke
Retired Superintendent, Capitol Reef National Park
Denis Galvin
Retired Superintendent, WASO
Russell Galipeau
Retired Superintendent, Channel Islands National Park
B. J. Griffin
Retired Superintendent, Presidio of San Francisco
Rebecca Harriett
Retired Superintendent, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Jonathan B. Jarvis
Retired Superintendent, 18th Director of the National Park Service
Bob Krumenaker
Retired Superintendent, Big Bend National Park
Elaine F. Leslie
Retired Superintendent, Colonial NHP/BRD
Deb Liggett
Retired Superintendent, Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks and Preserves
Richard Martin
Retired Superintendent, Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs; Death Valley NP; Wrangell–St. Elias NP & Preserve
Linda Mazzu
Retired Superintendent, Bryce Canyon National Park
Douglas Morris
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Michael B. Murray
Retired Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, NC
Don Neubacher
Retired Superintendent, Yosemite National Park
Jim Northup
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Jim Pepper
Retired Superintendent, Federal Hall NM; Castle Clinton NM; Theodore Roosevelt NHS; General Grant NM
Bob Reynolds
Retired Superintendent, Cape Hatteras Group (Cape Hatteras NS, Fort Raleigh NHS, Wright Brothers NM)
John Reynolds
Retired Superintendent, Pacific Northwest Regional Director
Cheryl Schreier
Retired Superintendent, Mount Rushmore National Memorial
K. Christopher Soller
Retired Superintendent, Fire Island National Seashore
Sheridan Steele
Retired Superintendent, Acadia National Park
Dale Thompson
Retired Superintendent, Coronado National Memorial
Michael Tollefson
Retired Superintendent, Yosemite National Park
Tom Vaughan
Retired Superintendent, Chaco Culture National Historical Park
J. W. Wade
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Karen Wade
Retired Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Thomas Workman
Retired Superintendent, Cabrillo National Monument