Latest news with #CoalitiontoProtectAmerica'sNationalParks
CBS News
25-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump cuts cause safety concerns for National Parks Service, including Bunker Hill
With the Trump Administration cutting 1,000 jobs from the National Parks Service - employees the administration said were newly hired - some are raising concerns about how the cuts will impact safety, including that of Charlestown's Bunker Hill Monument. Why do national parks need so many employees? Don Neubaker, of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, worked for the National Parks Service for 36 years, spending 20 years as the superintendent of Yosemite National Park. He believes that this number of layoffs could have a significant impact on the parks. He said that many parks have their own police department, ambulances and emergency response teams. Without proper staffing, he believes parks could become unsafe. "If you don't have the right amount law enforcement staff and emergency personnel, you're not going to be able to respond to emergencies the way we've done in the past," said Neubaker. "So across the board, there's really going to be less service for the American public." Neubaker added that park rangers do preventative work to keep bears away from public trails. He believes there could be an increased risk of bear attacks amid the firings. The National Parks Service reported more than 325 million people visited U.S. parks in 2023. Neubaker said those attendance numbers have been on the rise, and it is taking even more employees to maintain the beauty and safety of these landmarks. "It's just really a shame to see this happen to these very important places that protect our cultural and natural heritage," said Neubaker. Park-goers say rangers are needed Park-goers also appeared passionate about the issue. Carl Vassallo visited the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown with his family. They came all the way from the United Kingdom to see some of the United States' national parks. They've been pleased with their experience and are said to see resources shifting away from the parks. "It's really nice to come to these sort of areas," said Vassallo. "They're all clean; they're tidy, the snow has been cleared here today. So, yeah, disappointing if those things don't continue." On their trip, the family stopped by Yosemite in California and had many encounters with park rangers. Vassallo said that he hopes those jobs come back, as it would be difficult to navigate that park without them. "It's disappointing, really," he said. "When we went to Yosemite, there were a lot rangers on hand, especially when you got high up. It was really hot, and they were helpful to point out the right get lost in that part of the world is difficult." In addition to the 1,000 jobs cut, the Trump Administration put a hiring freeze on the National Parks Service. That hiring freeze has since been lifted, but it's left the NPS in a difficult situation. Neubaker said the National Parks Service usually begins staffing summer positions in January and starting that process in March will make it nearly impossible to hire enough workers to keep parks safe.
USA Today
07-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
How federal hiring freeze could get 'scary' for Great Smoky Mountains National Park
How federal hiring freeze could get 'scary' for Great Smoky Mountains National Park Show Caption Hide Caption Drive along the Foothills Parkway's Missing Link and see the fall colors in the Smokies Drive along the Foothills Parkway's Missing Link and see how the fall colors look in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park as of October 11, 2022. Brianna Paciorka, Knoxville News Sentinel Visitors looking forward to a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park this spring and summer could encounter unkempt trails, unclean bathrooms and fewer park rangers. The National Park Service was forced to rescind more than 2,000 seasonal and permanent positions nationwide under the widespread federal government hiring freeze enacted by the Trump administration Jan. 20. Park advocates are raising the alarm about what the cuts will mean for visitors. 'Seasonal park rangers serving the public, (employees) giving programs or maybe working on maintenance crews, or working with the resource management crews, working with people who control the wild hogs and so forth: all of those jobs could be postponed or maybe not ever filled,' Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, explained to Knox News on Feb. 3. Great Smoky Mountains National Park relies on 200 permanent employees and 140 seasonal employees, according to park statistics from 2024. Additionally, more than 1,600 people volunteered their time for the park to help staff between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024. Francis, who served as deputy superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park for 11 years and as superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway for eight, also noted that local businesses would feel the effects of the hiring freeze. 'When you combine the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Parkway and visitation to the (Cherokee) National Forest in our region, you're talking about billions and billions of dollars of economic benefits. These are economic engines, you know, they're serving the American public.' National parks generated $55.6 billion in economic output in 2023, the park service reported. What the federal hiring freeze means for Great Smoky Mountains National Park The park service typically posts spring and summer job openings between October and February and hiring for those positions ramps up in January and February, former park service director Jon Jarvis said to Politico. Search and rescue and other emergency response positions might be the only hiring that will continue during the pause, Francis said. But even that's not a guarantee. 'So, that would have an adverse effect on the visitor experience. It might make the park a little less safe and it could have an impact on park resources,' Francis said. Understaffing heading into the spring and summer season could interfere with operations at Sugarlands and other visitor center; educational and safety programming; trail and facility maintenance; bear management; and other projects. It's a 'scary time' for national parks facing uncertainty National parks, including the Smokies, have seen record-breaking visitation in recent years. Visitation at national parks has increased 16% since 2010 even as staffing is down 20%, making it hard for parks to keep up with demand, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most-visited national park in the country. Just over 12 million people visited during 2024. And the park had a 42% increase in visitation from 2013 to 2023. Added uncertainties because of the hiring freeze include whether parks can begin to hire again for the season and whether applicants who had job offers rescinded must restart the federal hiring process. 'It's a scary time,' a park ranger told Politico's E&E News. The person, who was granted anonymity because of fear of retaliation from the Trump administration, also said the first two weeks of the new administration have been 'brutal' for the park service. Francis also is concerned about the federal budget. The government avoided a shutdown in December, but the resolution signed then by President Joe Biden only runs through March 14. 'It would be nice to know what the prognosis is for a continuing budget (to fund the park service) for the remainder of the year,' Francis said. 'Is it going to be the same, is it going to be more, is it going to be less? The quicker the better for those folks who are managing the parks, who are still active and need to plan for the remainder of the year.' The executive order halting hiring of federal civilian employees says that within 90 days the U.S. Office of Management and Budget "shall submit a plan to reduce the size of the Federal Government's workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition." National parks faced a similar hiring freeze situation in 2017 at the start of Trump's first term. In that instance, however, seasonal and short-term temporary employees were deemed exempt a week after the executive order was signed. 'I think the difference (now compared to 2017 is) more positions have been lost due to lack of adequate budgets. And so, it just exacerbates an existing problem,' Francis noted. Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at
