Outdoor enthusiasts and the communities surrounding national parks and recreation areas are increasingly raising concerns about recent staffing reductions at the National Park Service.
Last week, the National Park Service laid off approximately 1,000 probationary employees, while the U.S. Forest Service let go of 3,400, mainly new hires with less than a year of service. These cuts introduce uncertainty for travelers and outdoor lovers as they prepare for the 2025 summer season.
The layoffs account for around 5% of the National Park Service’s workforce and 10% of the U.S. Forest Service’s workforce. According to the National Park Service, national parks and similar sites welcomed 325.5 million visitors in 2023, not including 159 million visitors to national forests.
The National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., criticized these staffing cuts as “reckless,” warning they could leave parks understaffed, resulting in tough choices regarding operating hours, public safety, and resource preservation. Following the firings, Yosemite National Park, which attracts nearly 4 million visitors yearly, has postponed the summer reservation process for five highly sought-after campsites, as reported by ABC News and others. Jen Young, co-founder of Outdoorsy, the leading RV rental marketplace, expressed concern, stating, “We’re hearing uncertainty from travelers who want to know if facilities and services will be available in 2025. That uncertainty isn’t good for anyone,” in a conversation with Forbes.
Key Background
Across the nation, protests have erupted in communities that thrive on the spending of national park visitors. Demonstrators gathered outside Rocky Mountain National Park this past Monday to voice their displeasure over recent firings and park ranger layoffs, as reported by ABC News’ Denver affiliate. In Flagstaff, Arizona—known as the gateway to Grand Canyon National Park—hundreds protested the layoffs. A former state park ranger was seen at a Tallahassee, Florida protest, holding a sign proclaiming, “Keep your paws off my national parks,” reported USA Today. Prior to the layoffs, protests also occurred at Yosemite and Joshua Tree national parks in California.
$639.5 billion is the estimated economic output of the outdoor recreation industry in 2023, outpacing sectors like farming, mining, and utilities, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. National parks alone contributed $55.6 billion to the U.S. economy, supporting 415,000 direct and ancillary jobs, based on National Park Service data.
Crucial Quote
“Nearly 30% of each season’s RV and campervan rentals on Outdoorsy.com are booked for travel to America’s most popular parks,” Young noted. “The recent layoffs across both the outdoor industry and the National Park Service send a troubling message that travelers, businesses, and the entire industry are likely to feel.”
Tangent
In a related incident, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston abruptly closed Tuesday due to the “sudden dismissal” of workers as a result of an executive order by President Donald Trump. Joseph Patrick Kennedy III, a former Massachusetts congressman and grandnephew of President Kennedy, remarked on CBS News that “there’s not a whole lot of thought into what are the consequences of these actions.” The JFK Library reopened the following day.
