Bad news for national parks

Roll Call -   From the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025, there has been a steady flow of bad news for staff and services at the [National Park Service] , the arm of the Interior Department that manages the 64 national parks and 369 other units, including historic sites, battlefields, memorials, monuments, preserves and recreation areas.

President Donald Trump’s quasi-federal agency, the Department of Government Efficiency, and, after DOGE, the Interior Department and the White House Office of Management and Budget eliminated more than 4,000 permanent employees through layoffs, buyouts, firings and forced resignations, according to Park Service records obtained by the NPCA. Some staff members also left voluntarily in frustration....

There also were fewer seasonal employees hired than are usually brought on for the park system’s busiest months for visitors, which totaled nearly 332 million in 2024. Visitor statistics for 2025 have not yet been released....

The 43-day partial government shutdown in the fall also took a toll, as thousands of employees were furloughed and others worked without pay. And in recent months there have been other stresses on staff, including orders from the administration to remove all references to diversity, equity and inclusion from Park Service informational materials and items for sale in gift shops.