Staffing is down, but attendance is up at U.S. national parks.
The National Park Conservation Association estimates that nearly a quarter of the National Park Service’s permanent staff has been cut since January, largely due to reduction efforts from the Trump administration.
Eboni Goddard, Southeast Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association, says this is putting a strain on parks across the Southeast.
"Last year we saw record numbers. That number continues to go up each year, with 331 million people visiting national parks. So for staff to feel this impact, whether it's losing their colleagues or losing funding to the park, is really hurting them at the worst time.”
By February, all but one one of the ranger stations along the Buffalo National River in north Arkansas had been closed. Four employees were terminated, which Goddard says makes the park less efficient and less safe.
In addition to the visitor experience, Goddard says critical research and environmental monitoring is being lost. This is especially true at the Buffalo National River, where algae blooms have become increasingly common.
"When you think about air pollution or water quality, things like that, they don't know the boundaries of national parks, they are just moving and flowing in the way they know how. And so the National Park Service and the staff that are monitoring those things are really thinking about the communities right there, the gateway communities, but also the community at large. And so they're really being stewards of that space, in making sure that when interventions are needed. they certainly do that, in partnership with other institutions."
Goddard says this is a critical moment as Congress has several appropriations bills on the table that the NPCA is watching closely. The competing budget proposals could make or break the nearly 110-year-old institution.
She says two of three outlines would seriously endanger the park system, adding that the Trump administration’s proposed $1 billion cut is one of the most devastating she has ever seen.
"This could potentially shut down 350 out of 433 national park spaces. That's quite devastating and something I don't think anyone wants to see. Then on the House side, there is a bill that, while it is not as bad when it comes to cuts, there is still a slash of $176 million from the parks' operating budget. That would really make a tough situation even worse.”
A third proposal from the Senate appropriations committee is far more generous.
The NPCA calls it a “lifeline” that would provide more than $15 billion to the Department of the Interior, including a $3.3 billion appropriation directly to the NPS.
Goddard says it also contains stabilizing regulations.
"First it requires the administration to hire and retain sufficient park service staff. That's really important, right? And we are looking to make sure they continue to perform the agency's mission-critical work, and manage these resources, really ensuring visitor enjoyment but also visitor safety. It also forces the administration to give Congress advanced notice of significant reorganization effort.”
Goddard calls the bipartisan Senate proposal somewhere between a stop-gap solution and windfall. She urged those who want to preserve National Parks to reach out to their representative to make their voice heard.
"I just want to offer a call of action to listeners, if I can, to listeners and encourage them to go to NPCA.org/SaveParks, and tell their members of Congress that national parks really matter and that they are important and we want to continue to uplift them, uplift the stories, uplift the landscape and all in between."
