Latest news with #AssateagueIsland
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
Swimmer dies at Assateague Island after leaders call for increased lifeguard staffing
A swimmer died at Assateague Island National Seashore on Thursday, July 24, weeks after state leaders called on the Trump administration to restore lifeguard staffing. The 18-year-old man was near the southern end of the Chinconteague Beach lot around 4:15 p.m. when a relative ran down the beach to tell a lifeguard that two swimmers were struggling in the water, according to the National Park Service (NPS). One of the struggling swimmers was rescued, but the man was unconscious when he was pulled from the water. Officials immediately started CPR, and the 18-year-old was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, NPS said. The area where the man was swimming was nearly 150 yards from the lifeguarded zone of the beach, officials said. The 37-mile-long island is in Maryland and Virginia, though the Maryland district does not have lifeguards on duty, according to NPS. The incident comes shortly after Maryland Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks emphasized that the low lifeguard staffing at Assateague Island created a public safety risk. "Drownings happen in minutes, and there is no substitute for attentive lifeguards specifically assigned to monitoring water safety at Assateague," the senators said in a joint letter. "Furthermore, NPS's current limited safety measures burden neighboring beach safety and emergency response efforts, stretching services too thin and making the entire area less safe for residents and visitors alike." The senators urged the Trump administration to fill all vacant lifeguard positions at the park after federal budget cuts led to low staffing levels. The administration laid off nearly 1,000 NPS employees in February as part of a cost-cutting effort. A hiring freeze was also in place through July 15. "The reason there are no lifeguards at Assateague is honestly a symptom of the chaos and dysfunction that has been impacting this agency since the beginning of this administration," said Ed Stierli, the senior director of the Mid-Atlantic region National Parks Conservation Association. In a statement to CBS News, NPS called the lifeguard shortage a "nationwide concern." Assateague Island is known for strong rip currents. Lifeguards made 24 rescues on the island in 2024, according to the letter from the senators. NPS officials recommend that swimmers take the following precautions:
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Teen, 18, drowns at popular Maryland beach just days after officials slammed lifeguard shortage
A teen swimmer has died in the Atlantic Ocean, just days after senators sounded the alarm over a shortage of lifeguards at the federally-managed beach. The 18-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was swimming with another person off the coast of Chincoteague Beach on Assateague Island, Maryland, which when both began to struggle in the water. The pair were roughly 150 yards south of the designated lifeguard zone on Thursday, officials confirmed. A relative sprinted down the sand to alert lifeguards at about 4.15pm, triggering a desperate rescue attempt. Lifeguards were able to save one swimmer, but the teen was pulled from the surf unconscious and unresponsive. CPR was immediately performed on the beach. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but pronounced dead on arrival. The tragedy comes amid mounting criticism of the National Park Service's lifeguard staffing levels at Assateague Island, a 37-mile barrier island straddling Maryland and Virginia that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every summer. The Maryland side of the island remains entirely unguarded, while the Virginia side only recently saw lifeguards return after a wave of federal budget cuts slashed nearly 1,000 NPS jobs and froze hiring through mid-July. According to the National Park Service, lifeguards, park police, US Fish and Wildlife officers, and Virginia emergency personnel all responded to Thursday's emergency, but the swimmer's distance from the protected zone raises serious questions about the park's ability to monitor its waters effectively. Though the cause of death has not been officially determined, officials confirmed the drowning occurred in an area notorious for strong currents and is the same stretch of water where lifeguards made 24 rescues in 2024 alone. Some witnesses described the swimmers as being 'well offshore' by the time help was alerted. The NPS has called the staffing crisis a 'nationwide concern,' but critics say the Assateague case highlights how years of dysfunction and cost-cutting are now putting lives at stake. The drowning has fueled new demands for accountability just as the park braces for peak summer crowds. The teen's identity has not yet been released as officials notify next of kin. No further information was available on the other swimmer involved in the incident but Daily Mail has reached out to NPS for comment.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Swimmer dies at Maryland's Assateague Island after leaders call for increased lifeguard staffing
A swimmer died at Maryland's Assateague Island National Seashore on Saturday, weeks after state leaders called on the Trump administration to restore lifeguard staffing. The 18-year-old man was near the southern end of the Chinconteague Beach lot around 4:15 p.m. when a relative ran down the beach to tell a lifeguard that two swimmers were struggling in the water, according to the National Park Service (NPS). One of the struggling swimmers was rescued, but the man was unconscious when he was pulled from the water. Officials immediately started CPR, and the 18-year-old was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, NPS said. The area where the man was swimming was nearly 150 yards from the lifeguarded zone of the beach, officials said. The 37-mile-long island is in Maryland and Virginia, though the Maryland district does not have lifeguards on duty, according to NPS. The incident comes shortly after Maryland Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks emphasized that the low lifeguard staffing at Assateague Island created a public safety risk. "Drownings happen in minutes, and there is no substitute for attentive lifeguards specifically assigned to monitoring water safety at Assateague," the senators said in a joint letter. "Furthermore, NPS's current limited safety measures burden neighboring beach safety and emergency response efforts, stretching services too thin and making the entire area less safe for residents and visitors alike." The senators urged the Trump administration to fill all vacant lifeguard positions at the park after federal budget cuts led to low staffing levels. The administration laid off nearly 1,000 NPS employees in February as part of a cost-cutting effort. A hiring freeze was also in place through July 15. "The reason there are no lifeguards at Assateague is honestly a symptom of the chaos and dysfunction that has been impacting this agency since the beginning of this administration," said Ed Stierli, the senior director of the Mid-Atlantic region National Parks Conservation Association. In a statement to CBS News, NPS called the lifeguard shortage a "nationwide concern." Assateague Island is known for strong rip currents. Lifeguards made 24 rescues on the island in 2024, according to the letter from the senators. NPS officials recommend that swimmers take the following precautions:
CBS News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Why staffing cuts to national parks could pose safety concerns for summer visitors
Assateague Island, Maryland — The shoreline of Maryland's Assateague Island is a familiar place for surfer Zack Tyndall. A former firefighter paramedic, Tyndall often helped beachgoers there — but now, as the mayor of nearby Berlin, Maryland, he says safety isn't guaranteed. "I don't want to see anybody drown," Tyndall told CBS News. "We had saves where we were able to bring people out, and we had some where we weren't able to, and that's my biggest fear here on the island." The 37-mile-long Assateague Island is shared by both Maryland and Virginia. Each year, millions of people visit the Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland, which is managed by the National Park Service. However, this summer, visiting families are also seeing shuttered lifeguard towers and signs warning that no lifeguards are on duty. CBS News asked the Park Service about the staffing situation on Assateague Island, but the agency did not directly respond to those questions – instead, saying in a statement that lifeguard shortages are a "nationwide concern even outside of our public lands. Many communities and cities across the country are experiencing a lifeguard shortage below ideal levels. Visitors have always had access to unguarded beaches and guarded beaches even after lifeguards leave for the day. We appreciate the public's understanding and cooperation as we work to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all." The Trump administration laid off about 1,000 NPS employees in February as part of its push, led by the White House's Department of Government Efficiency, to enact large-scale personnel and budgetary cuts across the federal government. President Trump also enacted a hiring freeze on federal permanent civilian employees immediately after taking office, which has impacted the Park Service. That hiring freeze has since been extended to July 15. "This was a policy put into place by DOGE and the current Trump administration that led to a complete hiring freeze on all hiring across the National Park Service," Ed Stierli, Mid-Atlantic region senior director of the National Parks Conservation Association, an independent Park Service advocacy group, told CBS News. According to analysis released this week by the Conservation Association, the Park Service has lost 24% of its permanent staff since Mr. Trump took office in January. The analysis also determined that about 4,500 seasonal positions have been filled, including lifeguards, well under the 7,700 seasonal positions NPS earlier this year said it was aiming to fill. "The reason there are no lifeguards at Assateague is honestly a symptom of the chaos and dysfunction that has been impacting this agency since the beginning of this administration," Stierli said. A Trump administration official told CBS News that all fire, law enforcement and public facing NPS personnel are prioritized to remain in place. Tyndall, meanwhile, is just hoping for a safe summer in Maryland. "Every day that we don't have a lifeguard here on the beach is putting every one of these swimmers, every one of our local residents, everybody that comes to visit Assateague Island, in jeopardy," Tyndall said. And the situation could get worse with the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026, which calls for the Interior Department to cut more than $1 billion to the National Park Service, the largest such cut in its history.
