Recent cuts to the National Park Service (NPS) have created challenges for visitors, be it canceled reservations, increased wait times to enter parks, or a reduction in services. Though the government has pledged to increase seasonal staffing in response to backlash, long-term effects of this downsizing can already be felt. Here’s what you need to know if you’re visiting a national park this year.
How Has Staffing Been Affected?
As part of a broader cost-slashing campaign by the Department of Government Efficiency, about 1,000 new hires had their offers rescinded in February. With the NPS employing roughly 20,000 people in total, this amounted to a 5% reduction in headcount, further straining an agency whose workforce had already declined 15% since 2010, even though park attendance has gone up 16% over that same period.
Just two days later, in response to the uproar that followed, the government announced a 21% increase to seasonal staffing, from the three-year average of 6,350 positions to 7,700. The agency is also planning to hire back at least 50 of the people affected by the initial cut. Though both the re-hiring and boost to seasonal staff are not without challenges: as reported by Jason Epperson from RV Miles, permanent staff who would be hiring and training new employees were themselves let go, such as at Grand Teton National Park, where 16 out of 17 supervisors were fired.
Though two federal judges have handed down orders to reinstate fired probationary workers, the government is appealing these rulings, so it’s not clear if or when these jobs will be restored.
How Do the Changes Affect the Parks?
It is estimated that over 325 million individuals visit the nation’s 433 National Park Service units that include parks, historic sites, and other attractions each year. To meet the demand, the NPS and other public agencies routinely add seasonal workers as the weather gets warmer and the parks reopen. In addition, there are a huge number of volunteers. Together with the permanent staff, they maintain the parks and guide visitors, among other responsibilities.
There are other crucial employees, however, whom most visitors never interact with. Nate Vince, a locksmith who was fired from Yosemite National Park, was in charge of all locked doors, gates, and safes in the park, which is roughly the size of Rhode Island. Though you may have never encountered him unless you were accidentally locked in a toilet, he was the only person who installed and maintained all those locks and played a key role in the park’s security.
How Will This Affect Visitors?
The most immediate effects can be felt even before you arrive at the park. At Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, the layoff gutted the team that managed reservations for visiting historic farm houses. Prospective visitors received notifications that their reservations had been canceled indefinitely. Meanwhile, the wait to enter the Grand Canyon has doubled since four employees were removed from the south entrance where about 90 percent of the park’s visitors pass through.
At many parks, visitor center hours have been cut and tours have been canceled. Visitors should keep an eye out for canceled or delayed park programming, canceled reservations or delays in confirmation, and reduced staff presence at the parks. Confirm your itinerary and all reservations before you leave for the park, and be prepared for unexpected delays.
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