Growing up in South Florida, a core memory for my childhood and many others’ was the inevitable Everglades National Park field trip. The swampy waters, the alligator heads you could see just barely grazing the surface, and the loud engine of the airboat tour are some of the amazing memories that my friends and I got to experience as elementary school kids.
Now, the Everglades, as well as America’s 62 other national parks, are in danger.
On Feb. 14, over 1,000 National Park Service and 3,400 Forest Service employees were fired from their positions —about 5% and 10% of their workforces, respectively. Among these employees were those on probationary periods who had not yet gained civil service protection. This follows the plan spearheaded by the Trump Administration and the new Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to slash federal spending.
On Jan. 28, the Federal Office of Personnel Management sent a mass letter to federal employees presenting two options: resign from their positions by Feb. 6 and be paid through the end of September, or stay in their roles without “full assurance regarding the certainty” of their position. Referred to as Fork in the Road, over 1,000 employees took the deal and left the federal workforce.
While 5% and 10% may sound like small numbers, it isn’t when considering that the National Park and Forest Services operate with less staff than ever.
According to Kristen Brengel, the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, the national parks have already been short-staffed, with parks operating with 20% fewer staff than in 2010.
“There was no fat to trim. All the staff who were there were needed,” Brengel said to CNN.
You may be asking, what’s the big deal? Without National Park Rangers and employees, the parks simply can’t fully or effectively function. National park employees are the people who maintain the trails and keep them safe, those who keep the grounds clean, and the ones who guide and protect visitors. Without them, who will take care of the land and ensure its safety? Who will keep the parks the pristine, picture-perfect spots that tourists love to take photos of?
Most importantly, the lack of park rangers and employees dramatically increases the risk of wildfires. According to the NPS, nearly 85% of wildfires in the U.S. are caused by humans.
One of the most notable wildfires, Yosemite’s 2013 Rim Fire, was caused by a bow hunter’s illegal campfire. Similarly, the 2020 East Troublesome Fire in Arapaho National Forest in Colorado was determined to have “human causes” by the U.S. Forest Service.
I vividly remember my aunt Jamie, who lived nearly three hours away from Arapaho, telling my mother and me that the smoke could be seen for miles. Now, without the National Park and Forest Services workers, the chances of those “human causes” and other fire-starting incidents will only start to rise.
Many of these National Park and Forest Services workers have taken to social media to share their heartbreak and dismay. Alex Wild, or @ranger_wild on Instagram, lost his job as a permanent Park Ranger and EMT and has been avidly posting about his loss and many fellow rangers and employees experiencing the same grief.
“My heart is broken for all of the other people who lost their jobs and their housing. My heart is broken for the parks and landscapes that will be damaged. And my heart is broken for my country,” Wild wrote in his Instagram post on Feb. 16, which has gained hundreds of thousands of views and likes.
But the mass layoffs are not the only danger the national parks face. The same administration responsible for thousands of jobs being lost is also pushing to monetize the parks’ lands.
On Jan. 20, Trump signed Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, which claims to boost U.S. energy production and reduce regulatory burdens by encouraging energy exploration on federal lands, waters, and the country’s other natural resources.
Following this order, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum released SO 3418, which says, “All Assistant Secretaries should include in the plan required by this section, steps that, as appropriate, will be taken to suspend, revise, or rescind documents.” Among those documents are several federal regulations, such as the “Comprehensive Analysis and Temporary Halt on all Activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Relating to the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program,” SO 3401 (June 1, 2021).”
Additionally, they were directed to “include in their action plans the steps to be taken that would accomplish… actions that prioritize reducing barriers to the use of Federal lands for energy development, consistent with the principle of multiple use.”
These essentially give the Department of the Interior permission to investigate and discuss the drilling of oil and energy resources on federal land and, therefore, national parks.
But that’s not all — Doug Burgum has the national parks on another chopping block. On Feb. 3, Trump signed Executive Order 14196, “A Plan for Establishing a United States Sovereign Wealth Fund.” A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund comprised of money generated by the government, often derived from a country’s surplus reserves.
During his January confirmation hearing, Burgum commented that the nation’s parks, lands, and natural resources are assets on “the nation’s balance sheet.” He speculated in his confirmation hearing that federal lands could be worth as much as $200 trillion, and the U.S. government should know the value of the corporation’s assets and use those assets “to get a return for the American people.” This turns federal lands into a money-grab asset and puts them at risk of possibly being sold or exploited for their possible natural resources.
Clearly, the recent layoffs within the National Park Service and Forest Service highlight a critical turning point for America’s treasured natural landscapes. The implications extend far beyond individual hardships; they threaten the very essence of what makes our national parks safe and accessible. As we navigate these challenges, we must advocate for the protection of our national parks in response to those who have already felt the effects of these changes.