Long lines, dirty bathrooms, closed campsites await visitors: national park experts warn
The Brief
Experts warn staffing cuts will jeopardize summer travel plans to national parks.
Reduced staffing could lead to long lines, dirty bathrooms, and could compromise public safety.
Staffing shortages could also increase wildfire risks, park advocates warned.
YOSEMITE, Calif. - From Yosemite to Joshua Tree, Sequoia, and Redwood national parks, millions of visitors flock to these world-renowned treasures located in California during the summer months.
And as Memorial Day marks the unofficial kick-off to the summer travel season, there are dire and mounting concerns about not only the deterioration of the visitor experience at national parks, but the dangers posed by the drastic cuts to staff in recent months.
"This is a crisis," said Don Neubacher, former superintendent of Yosemite National Park and an executive council member of The Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, a group made up of more than 4,100 National Park Service current, former, and retired employees as well as volunteers.
Neubacher warned visitors to be braced for possible issues, including long lines at entrances, closed campgrounds, dirty bathrooms, and overflowing trash bins.
"After all the chaotic cuts and hiring freezes, the quality experience that visitors have come to expect will be difficult to provide," the national park advocate said.
Dig deeper
The coalition also said that the cuts put the health and safety of visitors at risk.
Experts noted that park rangers often serve as the first line of defense in medical rescues and other emergencies and are tasked with keeping trails and roads maintained and safe for visitors.
So, with fewer staff on hand, they warned of ill-maintained and potentially dangerous infrastructure as well as slow response times for emergency rescue operations.
"A poor visitor experience not only fails to uphold the mission of the NPS [National Parks Service], it will jeopardize the protection of these spaces for the future," said former superintendent of Channel Islands National Park and coalition executive council member Russell Galipeau.
National park experts said a major concern for the entire state of California was the heightened risk of wildfires as temperatures soar amid extremely dry conditions.
"The gutting of the federal workforce that cared for these places means that there are fewer National Park Service employees removing invasive species and reducing fire risk on an ongoing basis. And, when the time comes, there will be fewer people to serve as secondary fire-fighting support in national parks when needed," the coalition said in a news release.
SEE ALSO:Gov. Newsom signs $170 million wildfire resiliency bill
By the numbers
Figures showed that the number of visitors to national parks has surged in recent years, with a record-breaking 331 million people visiting last year.
In California, the coalition put that figure at more than 12 million, with national parks sites including Death Valley, Yosemite, Sequoia, and Redwood all seeing increases in foot traffic.
"Yet staffing at national parks has not kept pace," the coalition said.
Experts noted that even before the Trump administration's cuts, parks were operating understaffed and underfunded.
"The most recent wave of personnel and funding cuts in February targeted frontline staff and forced land management agencies to eliminate critical seasonal positions ahead of peak visitor season," the coalition said.
Last month, amid mounting pressure and criticism, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed national parks to "remain open and accessible." In an April 3 order, he stated that his department and the NPS "are committed to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to visit and enjoy our Nation's most treasured places."
But park advocates and others criticized the move, saying it was contradictory and impossible to implement the directive given the workforce reductions.
The coalition said that the interior secretary's order ignores the realities of what is needed to safely manage national parks.
The group also slammed a proposed White House budget that's being deemed as one that would bring about the largest cuts ever to the National Park Service.
The coalition said that according to figures crunched by the National Parks Conservation Association, the proposed budget could lead to drastic closures of at least 350 national park sites nationwide, "effectively more than 75% of the national park system."
Park advocates noted that the slashes to staff and resources go beyond politics and their effects will be consequential and long-lasting.
"It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat, Americans love their national parks," said Galipeau. "We're supposed to manage these places for the enjoyment of future generations. Your children and their grandchildren should all make memories visiting our parks. But now, that future is in jeopardy."
The U.S. Department of the Interior did not immediately respond to KTVU's request for comment.
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