While 5,000 seasonal jobs that were also originally cut have now been reinstated following public pushback, permanent employees still in their probationary period — many of whom played roles in conservation and park operations — remain unemployed and are uncertain about their future. NPS told KQED in an email that it is hiring seasonal workers to ensure visitors “have a chance to explore and connect” with our national parks.
“This administration is using very blunt tools to reduce government in a way that doesn’t regard parks,” Lehnertz said on a recent episode of Forum.
Kenan Chan, a former marine scientist at Channel Islands National Park, was one such national parks worker affected. His work focused on intertidal monitoring for a program that tracked changes in population in kelp forests, algae, invertebrates and fish for over 40 years — with the goal to identify trends and potential threats to the ecosystem’s overall health.
Chan, who is from the Bay Area, had been with NPS as a seasonal employee for a decade before finally securing a permanent position in October last year. But just months into his new role, he was let go on Valentine’s Day — and “it happened very fast and unexpectedly,” Chan said.
Former marine scientist Kenan Chan working on long-term intertidal monitoring at Channel Islands National Park. (Courtesy of Kenan Chan)
How will national parks — and their visitors — be changed by these losses?
These layoffs have included public-facing roles like campsite maintenance, custodial teams and even search and rescue personnel — the absence of which can have extreme consequences for visitor safety.
Alex Wild, a former interpretive ranger and Emergency Medical Technician at Devil’s Postpile National Monument, about 50 miles south of Yosemite, told Bloomberg that in the summer and fall, he would respond to emergency calls “two to three times a week and mostly on weekends, to respond to visitor emergencies.” These situations, said Wild, can range from “a twisted ankle” to “a flare-up of a heart condition.”
The layoffs have impacted not only public-facing positions like campsite maintenance and search and rescue but also roles that usually go unnoticed and are essential for long-term park health. “There are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes that are critical to ensuring the park maintains a healthy system, which will be maintained for generations to come,” Chan said.
Chan’s work has helped track changes experienced at the Channel Islands. “We’ve documented new invasive species, we’ve tracked the decline of some abalone species, we’ve contributed to countless research projects. This data helps inform fellow scientists and policymakers,” he wrote in his Instagram post.
Chan hopes that the parks are able to restore the staff shortage “to allow the American people to fully enjoy these beautiful and amazing resources that we have. They are meant for everybody to enjoy,” he said.
“We do it because we love it. We’re passionate about the mission of the park service.”
Planning to visit? Set your expectations
In recent years, staff shortages at national parks — albeit on a much larger scale than these recent layoffs — have had big impacts on visitors. During the 2018 government shutdown that saw 80% of NPS employees furloughed, fewer emergency and law enforcement personnel were left to police the parks or rescue injured guests.
Beth Pratt, California regional executive director at the National Wildlife Federation, said this delay could lead to overcrowding, damage to wildlife, and strain on park infrastructure.
The reservations are usually open five months in advance, and experts worry that this delay may be “too close to the summer season to adequately plan for the park’s annual crush of visitors to avoid complications for both visitors and park infrastructure,” wrote Justin Housman on National Parks Traveler.
Visitors should check Yosemite’s website for the latest on camping and reservations.
Neal Desai, Pacific regional director at the National Parks Conservation Association, NPCA — an independent, nonpartisan organization advocating for the NPS — said these recent park layoffs will impact the visitor experience in many ways, including:
Traffic into some parks will be longer than usual.
Park staff will pull back camping reservations.
Parking will be harder to find due to larger crowds and less staff to manage them.
Trash may be overflowing from trash cans and dumpsters due to a lack of a cleanup crew.
Bathrooms and trails in certain parks will be unmaintained.
Guided tours and ranger programs for kids may also be closed or have reduced hours.
With layoffs impacting search and rescue staff as well as park EMTs, visitors should also plan ahead in case an emergency arises during their national park visit:
Be aware of weather alerts and warnings — and take extra caution at parks like Death Valley, where temperatures can rise to the hundreds in the summer. Prepare to cancel plans if weather conditions aren’t in your favor.
Bring your own emergency kit that includes medicine, first aid supplies, food, water and other essentials. This list by NPS provides an overview of the 10 essentials in an emergency kit.
Be prepared to “self-rescue.” Wild told the SF Standard that visitors should be prepared to treat a national park “like a wilderness area and manage your own emergency.”
Take extra caution when hiking more difficult terrain in parks, in the knowledge that if search and rescue roles have been cut in that park you’re visiting, you may have to manage a possible emergency situation on your own.
Desai encourages future visitors to set expectations before visiting a national park, understanding that the experience may not be what they were necessarily expecting due to park staff layoffs. “People have these expectations of what a visit to a national park should be. And they should expect to be disappointed if things [like staff shortages] don’t turn around,” he said.
Desai also advises future visitors to proactively watch for updates from the park’s official websites and NPCA.
Jonathan Farrington, CEO of the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, urged visitors not to cancel their plans but to be mindful of the park’s limitations.
“If a family member asked me if they should come to Yosemite this year, I would absolutely say yes,” said Farrington in an email to KQED. But he also urged people to “visit responsibly,” recommending that tourists:
Plan their stay in advance.
Arrive early.
Avoid peak traffic areas and promontories “between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.”
As the federal cuts continue to ripple through the park service, Desai encouraged visitors to show appreciation for the remaining park staff.
“These are folks who have devoted their lives to helping people create lifetime memories in these special places,” he said.
“And so, if you’re visiting a park and you see a park ranger, give them thanks and words of encouragement — because they deserve it.”
“These stories that are coming out are reminding people of the value of these types of jobs and the importance of the national park system,” Desai said.
Desai called the cuts “unstrategic” and “bad politics.”
“Our national parks are loved by all Americans across the political spectrum. They’re one of the few nonpartisan issues we see in our nation,” he said. “And they happen to be equally owned by every single person … attacking this institution is bad politics.”
This story contains reporting from KQED’s Gilare Zada.
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