Dear ,

Last year the National Park Service (NPS) welcomed millions of visitors to parks across the country. Even during a pandemic, some of our country's national parks experienced record-setting visitation. Maybe you were one of those millions.

But as many of us enjoy these parks, NPS continues to struggle with reduced funding. That means fewer rangers and other staff to take care of the parks we all love. With a combination of underfunding and low staff numbers our parks, climate, and visitors all suffer.

Urge Congress to bring back the jobs needed to maintain our country's national treasures.

With summertime approaching visitation will only continue to rise. And that's a great thing! However, Congress needs to ensure that NPS has the tools and resources to protect our parks, wildlife, and make sure all those visitors have safe and enjoyable visits.

Nearly 3,500 park staff positions, or 16% of the Park Service's staffing capacity, have been eliminated over the last decade, due to inadequate investments by Congress.

When park staff have had to do more with less, they end up having to multitask. In addition to their jobs, they also end up being park maintenance workers, junior ranger wranglers, traffic controllers, wildlife biologists, janitors, rescuers and more. This is not sustainable for staff and could eventually cause important tasks to fall through the cracks.

It is not just about the number of positions, but also the types of roles needed to keep our parks healthy and safe. Park staff need adequate funding to help protect irreplaceable resources, as well as provide quality experiences that visitors expect and deserve.

Urge Congress to increase funding for our parks this fiscal year.

NPS and other federal agencies have been waiting for their fiscal year 2022 budgets for months. If Congress does not act now they risk further staff declines and damage to our parks and climate. Their investment is essential.

Thank you for defending our parks,


John Garder
Senior Director, Budget & Appropriations