Decline in National Park Service Staffing Raises Concerns
The National Park Service has experienced a significant reduction in its workforce, drawing attention from supporters nationwide. Since the onset of President Donald Trump’s administration, the agency has seen nearly a quarter of its permanent staff eliminated.
According to a recent analysis by the National Parks Conservation Association, there has been a 24% decrease in the agency’s permanent employees this year. Cassidy Jones from the association commented, “Those are going to be folks who were terminated or laid off for various indiscriminate reasons. And it includes people who opted to take early retirement.”
Jones further elaborated that the administration has implemented measures affecting the National Park Service and other federal employees, contributing to the workforce reduction. The impact is not limited to permanent staff; seasonal employees, essential for tasks such as search and rescue and visitor interpretation, have also been drastically reduced. The usual number of 8,000 seasonal workers has now dropped to around 4,500, according to Jones.
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