31-03-2025
Some Virginia national parks have cut hours amid NPS firings
Some of Virginia's national parks that have seen layoffs amid the Trump administration's purge of federal employees are starting to cut hours, per an Axios review.
Why it matters: The firings have left fewer workers to do critical jobs ahead of the busy summer travel season.
By the numbers: More than 750 U.S. national park workers have been laid off this year, per an unofficial tally shared with Axios by a park ranger.
Shenandoah National Park was among the hardest hit in the nation, per the tally, with 15 workers cut (it's tied for first with Florida's Everglades National Park), plus:
Assateague Island (4), Colonial Park in Jamestown (3), Maggie L. Walker's Jackson Ward home (2) Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania military parks (1), George Washington Birthplace (1) Appomattox Court House (1) and Manassas National Battlefield Park (1).
State of play: Some of the parks are limiting hours for some amenities, according to an Axios review of public hours posted online now vs. a year ago.
Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, one of Shenandoah's two visitor centers, is open just three days a week, down from five this time last year.
Maggie L. Walker's home, a historic site owned by the National Park Service, dropped its tour schedule to two days a week, down from five.
At George Washington Birthplace in Colonial Beach, whole swaths of the park — including the visitor center, family burial ground and a picnic area — are now closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. A year ago, they were open daily.
Within Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania military parks, the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center is closed twice a week, down from its daily hours last spring.
Meanwhile, summer hours for Fredericksburg's Ellwood, the final resting place for Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's left arm, haven't yet been set.
Threat level: About 250 people die annually on NPS-managed lands nationwide, per Backpacker.
The firings could also leave fewer staffers to quickly snuff out small fires that might otherwise grow into massive blazes, the ranger who created the spreadsheet tallying the job cuts, told Axios.
The other side: NPS "is hiring seasonal workers to continue enhancing the visitor experience as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"We are focused on ensuring that every visitor has the chance to explore and connect with the incredible, iconic spaces of our national parks."
What we're watching: In mid-March, a federal judge ordered multiple government agencies to offer fired probationary federal workers, including the park workers, their jobs back.
The Trump administration last week asked the Supreme Court to halt that ruling, leaving most fired workers in limbo, per the AP.
Regardless, few, if any, have been invited back, Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, tells Axios.
