Trump administration orders national parks to remain open amid staffing shortages
The Trump administration has issued an order demanding that all national parks remain open amid severe staffing shortages — an action that one conservation group called 'reckless and out of touch' as park personnel brace for millions of visitors this summer.
'This order is intended to ensure that all national parks and national historic sites, which are managed by the Department of the Interior (Department), remain open and accessible for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people and to ensure that the National Park Service (NPS) will provide the best customer service experience for all visitors,' Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum wrote in a memo Thursday.
The mandate requires that any closures or reduction in hours at park sites are first reviewed by the National Park Service director and assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks for approval.
The order raised immediate concerns for Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Assn. In a statement, Brengel called the order 'yet another attempt by the administration to sideline the expertise of dedicated park staff.'
The association said any decisions to close park sites are determined by staffing levels, weather and maintenance needs. Requiring officials to first get approval before shuttering services would create an unnecessary network of bureaucracy for those who know the parks best.
'It's micromanagement at its worst, creating more red tape when park staff are already stretched dangerously thin and dealing with peak visitation season,' Brengel said. 'This order is reckless and out of touch.'
The National Park Service reported a record high of more than 331 million visitors last year to 433 individual park units and 63 national parks, the directive notes. But the order comes after President Trump slashed about 1,000 National Park Service workers this year, with many hundreds more taking buyouts.
Those reductions have put the popular federal agency — in charge of managing beloved California sites from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area to Joshua Tree and Yosemite National parks — at critically low staffing numbers that will make it exceedingly more difficult to both welcome visitors and maintain the parks. The cuts could mean fewer workers will be available to collect entrance fees, clean toilets or help with search and rescue operations.
The Assn. of National Park Rangers has warned that more cuts are possible, and will further hamstring the service's ability to protect the lands and ensure they remain accessible to everyone.
'Despite the value and benefit being provided to Americans by national parks, [workers] are systematically being robbed of their abilities to meet their mission,' the association's president, Rick Mossman, said in a March statement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
17 minutes ago
- CBS News
Mayor Bass, regional mayors call for end to ICE raids in Southern California: "Our communities are not battlegrounds"
After days of violent and destructive protests in Los Angeles, fueled by an increase in immigration enforcement operations, Mayor Karen Bass and other regional mayors called for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. At a news conference Wednesday morning, Bass said the unrest in a portion of Los Angeles started last Friday after immigration operations were carried out in several parts of Southern California. Bass told reporters that LA and surrounding cities were "peaceful" before the raids. Mayor Karen Bass called on the Trump administration to end the immigration enforcement operations taking place across the Southern California region. KCAL News She explained that the raids have caused fear in immigrant communities, and accused President Trump of worsening the situation when he ordered the deployment of National Guard and U.S. Marine troops. She called for an end to ICE raids and the federalization of troops. "When you start deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids, it is a drastic and chaotic escalation and completely unnecessary," Bass said. Mr. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, claiming that his decision to deploy troops to LA saved the city from burning to the ground. "The great people of Los Angeles are very lucky that I made the decision to go in and help!!!," he wrote. Her speech came a day after she implemented a curfew in a portion of downtown LA after five consecutive nights of demonstrations, which have escalated to clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers, as well as hundreds of arrests. Since the start of the protests, parts of downtown LA have been covered in graffiti, businesses have been looted and public property has been vandalized. TOPSHOT - A car burns as a demonstrator waves a Mexican national flag during a protest following federal immigration operations, in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on June 7, 2025. RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images During an interview Wednesday morning on CBS Los Angeles, Bass explained that the curfew will be extended until it is necessary to ensure public safety. The curfew currently runs for one square mile in the downtown area from the 5 Freeway to the 110 Freeway and from the 10 Freeway to where the 110 Freeway and 5 Freeway merge from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Bass has also taken to social media to share how the raids are affecting the city. In a post on X, she wrote, "Angelenos are trying to live their lives—going to work, caring for their families—while facing the constant threat of sudden immigration crackdowns." Other mayors from across Southern California joined Bass, calling for an end to the ICE raids. The Mayor of Huntington Park, Arturo Flores, a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, told reporters that the military neighborhoods. "The deployment of Marines on our U.S. soil is an alarming escalation that undermines the values of democracy," Flores said. "Our communities are not battle grounds." Flores said the ICE raids being carried out in his community and others across the region are a form of intimidation that traumatizes hardworking residents. He said fear-based tactics are being used to target immigrant communities. The Mayor of Paramount, Peggy Lemons, added that residents are choosing not to leave their homes or send their children to school out of fear that ICE will take them away. "For many in our city, this has been the most devastating time in recent memory," Lemons said. She said immigrants, who play such an important role in the makeup of the region, should not have to live in constant fear.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
State Department orders departure of nonessential staff from Baghdad embassy
The State Department is ordering the departure of all nonessential staff from its embassy in Baghdad due to concern over increased security risks in the region, according to two State Department officials familiar with the matter. "President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad. In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies," one of the officials said. "Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce our Mission in Iraq." The embassy already has a very limited number of nonessential employees, so the order is not expected to impact many individuals. Under the current plan, one official said the U.S. military would not be involved in transporting the nonessential personnel out of the country, but that those plans could change if the situation on the ground calls for it. Another U.S. official said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East as tensions ratchet up between Israel and Iran. -ABC News' Luis Martinez and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report. State Department orders departure of nonessential staff from Baghdad embassy originally appeared on
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Entire Fulbright Scholarship board quits, citing Trump admin actions
All members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced their resignation on Wednesday, releasing a statement accusing President Donald Trump's administration of political interference in the prestigious exchange program. The 12-member board alleged the Trump administration "usurped the authority of the Board" by denying Fulbright awards to "a substantial number of individuals" who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year. The board also alleged the administration is currently "subjecting" an additional 1,200 international Fulbright recipients to "an unauthorized review process and could reject more." "We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute," the board said in its statement. MORE: State Department delivers crushing news to Fulbright scholar hopefuls in Afghanistan The board oversees the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, which offers international graduate students, young professionals and artists the opportunity to study and conduct research in the United States. The government-funded, non-partisan program -- which was established by Congress in 1942 under then-President Harry Truman's administration -- operates in more than 160 countries worldwide, providing scholarships to approximately 4,000 foreign students annually. In the joint letter on Wednesday, the board said the awards that were overridden by the administration were concentrated in biology, engineering, architecture, agriculture, crop sciences, animal sciences, biochemistry, medical sciences, music and history. MORE: State Dept. suggests Afghan Fulbright hopefuls seek other options as program stalls The board claimed it has raised "legal issues and our strong objections with" senior Trump administration officials "on multiple occasions," including in writing, but says the concerns have not been acknowledged. In a statement to statement to ABC News after the board announced its resignation, a senior State Department official called the decision "a political stunt attempting to undermine President Trump." "It's ridiculous to believe that these members would continue to have final say over the application process, especially when it comes to determining academic suitability and alignment with President Trump's Executive Orders." the official said. The board, however, said in its statement that the decision was not one "we take lightly," woth the board calling on Congress, the courts and future Fulbright Boards to "prevent the administration's efforts to degrade, dismantle, or even eliminate one of our nation's most respected and valuable programs." "Injecting politics and ideological mandates into the Fulbright program violates the letter and spirit of the law that Congress so wisely established nearly eight decades ago," the board concluded in its statement. Entire Fulbright Scholarship board quits, citing Trump admin actions originally appeared on
