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The recent death of a hiker on the Blue Ridge Parkway is amplifying concerns about visitor safety as visitation to national parks and public lands ramps up amid declining budgets and staffing levels. The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most visited national park units in the country and connects Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina with Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. The incident is at least the second hiker death in the area in recent months.
Brian Bonville worked as a seasonal interpretive ranger in the area last year, and in an interview with WRAL News said his team was often the first to respond to trail emergencies. “People often think we’re just handing out maps, but we’re the ones warning about trail hazards, pointing out hornet nests, or responding when a pet becomes aggressive. Those small interactions help build a culture of safety,” Bonville said.
According to the Coalition to Protect National Parks, the National Park Service has experienced a 13 percent reduction in staffing over the past two months of the Trump administration, a stat that is not being touted with the Interior department's messaging for National Park Week this week.
“These parks bring such a big benefit to society,” Bonville continued. “They offer free pastimes that support public health, well-being, even clean air and water. But when you lose the staff who connect people to the landscape and help keep them safe, you lose a huge part of what makes these places work.”
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It should be abundantly clear to [U.S. Representative Jeff] Hurd that Western Slopers have a deep, intimate relationship with the public lands that surround their communities. These places provide clean water for drinking and agriculture, critical habitat for wildlife and opportunities for outdoor recreation that have come to define the Western Slope lifestyle.”
