"National parks cannot properly function at the staffing levels this administration has reduced them to. And it’s only getting worse." - Theresa Pierno, NPCA's President and CEO
WASHINGTON, DC — Utilizing internal data from the Department of the Interior workforce database, the National Parks Conservation Association’s (NPCA) new analysis reveals a sharp decline in staffing levels across the National Park System since January 2025. Since the Trump administration took office, the National Park Service has lost 24% of its permanent staff, a staggering reduction that has left parks across the country scrambling to operate with bare-bones crews. The park staff who remain are being asked to do more with less, and it’s simply not sustainable.
Additionally, seasonal hiring is lagging far behind the nearly 8,000 positions pledged by the administration, with only roughly 4,500 seasonal positions filled so far. This has left parks severely understaffed during peak visitation, putting visitor centers, trail maintenance and public safety at risk when help is needed most.
This new analysis lays bare the consequences of these cuts – fewer rangers to protect visitors and resources, less interpretation and education for the public, slower emergency response times, and more strain on already overburdened staff who remain. In national parks across the country, from Big Bend to Yosemite, and Assateague to Saratoga, staffing shortages have led to reduced hours at visitor centers, delayed maintenance and fewer educational programs. These cuts come as park visitation surges and Americans desire access to nature more than ever.
- At Assateague Island National Seashore, all 13 lifeguard positions are vacant, including the chief lifeguard and six guards each on the Maryland and Virginia sides. A beach that should be protected all summer long currently has zero lifeguards.
- The National Parks of Boston, which are hosting thousands of visitors for America 250 throughout the year, have lost their Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Director of Science and Stewardship Partnerships, Supervisory Interpretive Park Ranger, Museum Curator and their lone administrative assistant. These three park units combined have over 50 vacancies for full-time employees.
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is unable to fill 24 of the park’s 74 positions – a 1/3 reduction in staffing. All custodial staff had been terminated, so other, higher graded maintenance employees were being directed away from their regular duties to perform custodial functions.
- An estimated 60 staffers from the National Park Service’s regional offices in Alaska have departed under the Trump administration via firings, layoffs retirements and buyouts.
Big Bend National Park is down to almost half of their fully staffed numbers. There will be greatly reduced interpretive programming this summer because they’ve lost several interpretive staff, including the chief of interpretation.
Every building at Yosemite National Park’s Pioneer History Center was forced to close after several artifacts were stolen, a consequence of dangerously low staffing. Still, Secretary Burgum has required parks to remain open, even when historic and cultural resources are at risk.
As of the date of this press release, there are currently only 49 open positions listed nationally for the National Park Service on the government’s official site, USAjobs.gov.
Statement by Theresa Pierno, President and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association:
“This new data confirms what NPCA has been warning the Administration and Congress about. National parks cannot properly function at the staffing levels this administration has reduced them to. And it’s only getting worse. Since the Trump administration took office, the Park Service has lost 24% of its permanent staff—that’s nearly a quarter of the workforce gone, along with decades of irreplaceable knowledge and expertise. The remaining staff are overwhelmed and doing heroic work just to keep parks open, safe and protected. But many are hanging by a thread.
“And the administration has filled only half of the nearly 8,000 seasonal positions it promised. Without these essential workers, visitor centers and campgrounds will close, trails will go unmaintained, rescue response times will slow, and cultural sites will fall into disrepair. All of this as millions of visitors pour into parks this summer.
“Instead of fixing the problem, the administration is doubling down, planning even more staffing cuts. You can’t protect our national treasures by gutting the people who care for them.
“NPCA is calling on Congress and the administration to halt further cuts, lift the hiring freeze and fully restore lost positions. This crisis was a choice by this administration. But it’s one they can still undo. It’s time for lawmakers who swore to protect our national parks to act now, before the damage to our parks and our nation’s legacy is irreversible.”
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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.6 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.
