The American national park system is a source of great pride for our nation. We enjoy having a vast enough landscape to set aside large tracts of it for the citizenry to enjoy it as it was, relatively wild and untrammeled. And, of course, these lands and the facilities that enable people to travel to and enjoy them require staffing. We should also be glad for the people who work in these parks, often out of sight and underappreciated.
But, fiscal realities are what they are, and with the current belt-tightening, even national park employees may see some reductions; one such is Texas’s Big Bend National Park. A recent piece is bemoaning that park’s decrease in staffing, but I have a few questions.
Big Bend, one of the largest national parks in the U.S., is now operating with just half the staff it needs. As part of a sweeping decline in staffing across the National Park Service (NPS), the park has lost key personnel this year, including its superintendent, who retired in May, and its chief of interpretation, whose position remains vacant.
The reductions at Big Bend reflect a nationwide staffing crisis documented in a new analysis released by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Using internal data from the Department of the Interior’s workforce database, NPCA found that the NPS has lost 24 percent of its permanent workforce since the Trump administration took office—nearly one in four employees.
At Big Bend, the effects are acute. Educational programming has been sharply reduced, trail maintenance has slowed, and ranger-led services have been cut back during the park’s peak summer season. Earlier this year, several maintenance and visitor positions were also eliminated, further compounding the strain.
So, does Big Bend really have half the employees it needs? Or did it have twice the number of really necessary employees? According to this account, they are losing “educational programming.” OK, that doesn’t seem like a deal-breaker. Now, trail maintenance is important – and it’s not clear what they mean by “ranger-led services.”
A superintendent? Yes, I can see the reason to fill that role. Someone’s name has to be on the blame line. But a “chief of interpretation?” So, the visitors may have to do some of their own interpreting.
Big Bend isn’t the only park dealing with this:
Across the NPS, other parks are facing similar challenges. At Assateague Island National Seashore, all 13 lifeguard positions—including the chief lifeguard—are vacant, leaving the beach unprotected this summer. Yosemite National Park closed its Pioneer History Center after several artifacts were stolen due to dangerously low staffing levels. At the National Parks of Boston, multiple leadership roles have gone unfilled, resulting in over 50 full-time vacancies across the combined park units.
I’d like to see a little more detail here before becoming alarmed.
See Also: Tales of Yellowstone: Another Tourist Gets Too Close to Bison, Pays the Price
Interior Secretary Receives Official Request to Put Trump’s Big, Beautiful Grill on Mount Rushmore
Look, all of America should be proud of our national park system. Some of America’s greatest scenery is contained therein, not least of which is Denali National Park, just 150-some miles north of where I sit. Before panicking over the loss of some of these employees, though, I’d rather wait at least a year or two and see how these parks are actually affected. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable expectation.
DOGE is finding billions of dollars in wasteful spending, and the Democrats are losing their minds as they realize their gravy train and woke projects are coming to an end.
Help us continue to report on DOGE’s accomplishments and expose leftist corruption. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
