Last week, the Trump administration dismissed 1,000 National Park Service (NPS) employees within their probationary period as part of an initiative to reduce federal government costs. The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has urged a halt to these staffing reductions, emphasizing their detrimental effects on park visitors and impacted employees. These reductions, along with a hiring freeze, align with the administration’s broader strategy to downsize the federal workforce in science and conservation roles.
The Department of the Interior has allowed 5,000 seasonal positions to remain unaffected by the hiring freeze while cutting 1,000 permanent NPS staff roles. Reports have surfaced that some employees received notification via email, allegedly citing poor performance despite contrary records. These dismissals have prompted park rangers and staff to share their experiences of the abrupt staffing changes. The NPCA has also published employee testimonials highlighting the impact.
Probationary periods in the NPS, typically lasting one to two years, are used to assess employee performance but do not exclusively target underperformers. NPCA’s senior director of budget and appropriations, John Garder, expressed concerns about the timing of the cuts in relation to the busy season in national parks, highlighting potential challenges in recruiting and onboarding sufficient staff.
Specifically affected parks include Great Smoky Mountains, Zion, Acadia, Joshua Tree, Gateway, and Golden Gate National Recreation Areas. The repercussions of the staffing cuts have impacted various roles, from fee collectors to members of the bookings team, and even included the sole locksmith at Yosemite National Park.
There is widespread confusion at the management and staff levels as these changes, directed by the Office of Personnel Management, proceed without consulting many career employees. Similar staffing changes are happening across other government scientific institutions. The Commerce Department is reportedly preparing substantial staff reductions at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Additionally, widespread layoffs have affected other federal agencies, including NASA, the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Science Foundation.
The NPCA has launched a petition, urging the public to advocate for reversing these staffing decisions, stressing that congressional representatives must understand the detrimental impact on national parks. More than 300 million people visit the U.S. national parks each year, contributing over $55 billion to the economy in 2023. While it remains uncertain how these staffing changes will ultimately impact visitors, those closely involved express serious concern about the parks’ future operations.