As we head into the holiday weekend, and the start of National Park Week – and with the busy summer season on the horizon – the Trump Administration is trying to assure Americans that despite the administration’s cuts to staff and attempts to gut resources, national parks are operating as normal.
Don’t believe their spin. It could not be further from the truth.
Even before the Trump Administration’s latest cuts, national parks were understaffed and having to do more with less. These cuts have made a bad situation worse.
And visitors to national parks this weekend, and throughout the summer, will feel the impacts.
Secretary Burgum’s order that national parks remain open won’t solve the problem. In fact, it may make it worse.
The two-page secretarial order from Secretary Burgum on April 3rd, ordering all national parks to remain “open and accessible” comes, as National Parks Traveler notes, “in the wake of the department’s initial hold on seasonal hiring, attempt to fire 1,000 probationary workers, encouragement for others to retire, and hiring freeze.”
The truth is that forcing park leaders to seek permission from Washington before adjusting a schedule is dangerous. It does not acknowledge the practical realities of safely managing our parks. Unfortunately, there are times when changes to park operating hours, emergency closures, or unexpected cancellation of programs must occur. These decisions, made by superintendents and other park managers, often need to be made quickly while taking into account a variety of factors regarding the practical and safe management of our parks. The order is also just not sustainable given the current hiring freeze, delayed seasonal start dates, and federal job cuts. Parks are already struggling with inadequate budgets and a lack of critical staff—and there are more cuts underway. It is estimated over 1,000 park staff have taken the recent buyout offer and will not be available for the summer season.
Secretary Burgum’s order and the subsequent directive from the National Park Service to rely on volunteers, reassign staff, or “use available flexibilities” is just an effort to disguise the on-the-ground impacts of this administration’s actions to traumatize and slash the federal workforce.
Visitors can expect longer waits to get into national parks and facilities that are not being properly maintained.
According to the National Park Service, a record-breaking 331 million people visited national parks in 2024. Almost two dozen national parks broke visitation records in 2023. Even before the administration’s cuts, this was causing long wait times to get into many parks. The cuts will only make this worse.
As more than 20 United States senators pointed out in a letter to Secretary Burgum, “the administration’s offer of deferred resignation and voluntary early retirement, made without clear legal authority, as well as open threats about future terminations will lead to a damaging loss of full-time staff at the National Park Service, which is already operating well below prior staffing levels despite significant increases in visitation. As a result of onerous budget caps during the 2010s, the National Park Service lost 15% of its staff while park visitation also increased by 15%.”
Without proper staff to work park entrances, visitors should anticipate long lines.
Visitors should also be prepared for:
- Bathrooms that are not regularly cleaned
- Trails that are not maintained
- Closed campgrounds or canceled programs
- Limited access to some park amenities
- More trash because it can’t be collected as frequently
- Fewer National Park Rangers to help you have a safe and memorable visit
Safety could be compromised.
Rangers, often the first line of defense in emergencies from wildlife encounters to medical rescues, were already being spread dangerously thin.. These latest moves by the administration will mean fewer patrols, slower emergency response times, and reduced preventative maintenance on trails, roads, and infrastructure.
All of which puts the safety of irreplaceable resources, staff, and millions of visitors to our parks at risk.
About the Coalition
The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization made up of over 4,000 members, all of whom are current, former, and retired employees or volunteers of the National Park Service (NPS). Together, they have accumulated over 50,000 years of experience caring for America’s most valuable natural and cultural resources. Our members include former NPS directors, deputy and regional directors, superintendents, park rangers (both law enforcement and interpretive), maintenance and administrative professionals, and many other dedicated career professionals.