U.S. National Park workers reckon with fear, anger after layoffs

U.S. National Park workers reckon with fear, anger after layoffs

by Victoria LAVELLEErikka Olson spent five years building her resume with a seasonal job at California's Yosemite National Park before she finally landed a permanent position with the US Forest Service in Nevada. This past weekend, the Trump administration laid her off, along with thousands of other...

What to Expect at the National Parks After Their Staff Layoffs

About 3,000 positions in the National Park Service and US Forest Service were eliminated by the Trump administration. Here’s what that could mean for travelers.

National Park Service Sites Are Starting to Close (Facilities) After Layoffs

After a thousand probationary National Park Service (NPS) employees were laid off during Valentine’s Day weekend, many parks are now grappling with the consequences and challenges of having fewer staff. A reduced workforce, combined with a federal hiring freeze and the delayed hiring of thousands of essential seasonal NPS workers, can and will result in... The post National Park Service Sites Are Starting to Close (Facilities) After Layoffs appe…

The crisis coming for our national parks

Vox reported America’s beloved national parks face a problem that could, in a matter of weeks, grow into a full-blown crisis. The number of people visiting areas managed by the National Park Service — which includes national parks, monuments, and other sites — is way up. In 2023, the most recent year for national data, parks had more than 325 million visits. That’s about a 16 percent bump relative to 2010. At least in some parks, visitation rat…

US National Park workers reckon with fear, anger after layoffs

Erikka Olson spent five years building her resume with a seasonal job at California's Yosemite National Park before she finally landed a permanent position with the US Forest Service in Nevada.

National Parks Are in Crisis. Here's What You Need to Know About the Layoffs.

America’s National Parks System is facing an emerging crisis. The parks were already in a fragile state, being drastically understaffed and underfunded. And now, with the recent purge as a result of the new administration’s executive orders and directives, over 1,000 vital employees have been laid off. Those staff members include forestry workers, firefighters, EMTs, and rangers, all of which will severely affect park operations, visitor experie…