Cut to the Bone

Since January, NPCA estimates roughly 13% of the National Park Service’s staff are gone as a result of pressured buyouts, early retirements and deferred resignation. The people being pushed out are the lifeblood of our national parks. They maintain trails, clean restrooms, manage wildlife, guide visitors and safeguard America’s cultural and natural treasures.

Their loss represents not just a staffing shortage, but also the loss of decades of institutional knowledge and frontline experience. Making matters worse, many roles remain unfilled under a relentless hiring freeze.

All of these staffing challenges are unfolding under the shadow of a looming reduction in force, compounding the uncertainty across the agency. Thousands more employees could be lost as a result of the administration’s aggressive and short-sighted efforts to consolidate and reduce the federal workforce.

It’s clear that protecting parks is no longer the priority — protecting appearances is.

The Park Service was already experiencing a 20% reduction in staff even before the administration took office. And now, this full-blown staffing crisis could soon get dramatically worse — putting hardworking park staff out of work and leaving remaining employees with less ability to protect parks.

The Likely Damage Created by a Reduction in Force

On day one, the Trump administration, through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), initiated an aggressive campaign to shrink the federal workforce. The result has been confusion, chaos and sweeping terminations. Not even America’s most beloved federal agency was spared, as more than 1,000 National Park Service probationary employees abruptly and senselessly were fired on Feb. 14. Although a court ordered their reinstatement, the damage was already done.

The administration continues to gut the workforce, and the park staff who remain are left to question whether they will be able to keep their jobs and pay their bills.

Despite the dramatic reduction in staff, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently issued a demand to park managers to keep trails, campgrounds and visitor centers open — even when they believe it’s unmanageable. This means parks that are already stretched to the limit will be stretched even further.

To visitors, everything might look fine. But under the surface, the administration is forcing overwhelmed park staff to cobble together basic visitor services.

Park staff are being pulled from their duties leading guided hikes, monitoring wildlife and conducting critical research in order to clean bathrooms or cover shifts outside their jobs. It’s clear that protecting parks is no longer the priority — protecting appearances is.

To visitors, everything might look fine. But under the surface in many parks, the administration is forcing overwhelmed park staff to cobble together basic visitor services.

Worse still, the administration presses forward with a reduction in force. While it’s not uncommon for administrations to pursue reductions in force, this administration’s approach has been reckless, sweeping and devoid of strategy. This is a blunt-force effort to eliminate staff — not a thoughtful, informed process. By reclassifying park employees to Schedule F status to remove job protections, they’ve made it possible to fire anyone, regardless of performance or tenure. The result is a devastating loss of experience, expertise and institutional knowledge.

Every single park employee has been placed on notice, especially the critical regional support staff who keep our entire National Park System up and running. As rumors spread and uncertainty mounts, staff in these offices across the country are bracing for the impact.

The Importance of Keeping Regional Support Offices

The first National Park Service regional offices were established by National Park Service Director Arno B. Cammerer in 1937. Today, the Park Service has seven regional supportive offices that provide oversight and guidance to the park units within those geographic areas.

While the number and size of regional offices has fluctuated over the years, their importance has remained the same: Regional offices and their staff form the backbone of the National Park Service, ensuring the smooth, day-to-day operation of parks across the country. They provide essential support specializing in all aspects of park management, from divisions for natural and cultural resources to visitor services and external affairs to business operations and planning.

John Donahue, retired superintendent of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, recently told me, “A park superintendent can’t understand roads, buildings, endangered species, natural resources, damage assessment and a thousand other things without some assistance. That’s where a regional office comes in handy.” In the case of a major emergency, for example, “Who is else is going to organize firefighters from 30 different parks to go out West and help with a fire?” he posed.

What regional support offices do:

• Deliver Efficiency and Effectiveness

Regional offices are designed to be efficient, serving multiple parks within a geographic area and providing centralized expertise that individual parks couldn’t sustain alone. While large parks like Yellowstone have dedicated teams to handle planning, compliance and project management, smaller parks often lack the staff and bandwidth to manage these tasks on their own. These parks rely heavily on regional offices for guidance on everything from hiring and budgeting to environmental reviews and emergency response. This collaborative model makes the most of limited resources, ensuring consistent, high-quality management throughout the entire Park System.

• Provide Expertise

Regional offices provide critical expertise in areas like science, fire management, information technology, cultural resources, infrastructure, interpretation, education and so much more. Park rangers are experts in resource protection and visitor services, but they may not have the technical expertise needed for infrastructure projects like road maintenance. That’s where regional offices step in, providing the engineering and project management support parks need to maintain safe, accessible facilities. Regional offices also carry out responsibilities required by federal law, such as conducting scientific research that informs park management. And they address region-specific needs, such as supporting grant programs like National Heritage Areas.

• Build a Bridge for Legislators and the Public

Regional offices also provide critical public relations and government affairs needs, serving as a vital bridge among national parks, lawmakers and the public. They help communicate park needs and priorities to Congress, as well as coordinate with state and local governments. This collaboration is especially important when it comes to securing funding and resources parks need to thrive. Regional staff also help engage communities and stakeholders, building partnerships and ensuring transparency across the Park System.

• Maintain Visitor Experience

While regional office staff may not be stationed inside the parks themselves, their work is essential to the experience of the millions of visitors who pass through them every day. From ensuring roads are safe and trails are maintained to supporting educational programs and protecting cultural and natural resources, their behind-the-scenes expertise helps make every park visit possible.

Without regional supportive offices, national parks across the country would lose the guidance and infrastructure needed to function safely and effectively. Cutting or weakening these offices wouldn’t just create logistical chaos — it would undermine the entire system that keeps our national parks open, protected and accessible to the public.

NPCA Isn’t Backing Down

The National Parks Conservation Association has been closely monitoring the staffing situation at our national parks across the country. While we’ve never witnessed the level of relentless attacks on parks staff like we’ve seen the past 100 days, this is exactly what our organization was made for.

Our national parks aren’t just places on a map. They’re our shared legacy. For over a century, Americans have protected these treasured landscapes and stories. We can’t be the generation that lets a reckless political agenda tear that legacy apart. And NPCA will do everything in our power to stop it.