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On Friday, 22 U.S. senators wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum warning him that the Trump administration's effort to shrink the federal workforce could cripple the National Park Service (NPS) ahead of the busy summer season.
President Donald Trump's hiring freeze rescinded over 2,000 seasonal and permanent job offers from NPS, dealing a major blow to the service's ability to meet the needs of national parks. As described in the letter, without seasonal staff during peak season, visitor centers may close, bathrooms will be filthy, campgrounds may close, guided tours will be cut back or altogether cancelled, and emergency response times will drop.
“Americans showing up to national parks this summer and for years to come don’t deserve to have their vacations ruined by a completely preventable — and completely irresponsible — staffing shortage," the senators said.
They also warned Secretary Burgum that some parks could close, which would severely hamstring gateway communities that rely on visitation to sustain local economies. According to the National Park Service, visitors spend about $26.4 billion annually in communities near parks.
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Federal public lands strike at the very core of what it means to be a westerner, so people from all political viewpoints and backgrounds have very strong beliefs about what it means to live here in the West and the impact public lands have on their lives.”
