Thousands descend on U.S. national parks to protest firings
Global News
Concerned Americans say job cuts in national parks will put the future of these lands in jeopardy and create unsafe conditions for visitors.
Thousands of protesters descended on U.S. national parks over the weekend, from Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon and beyond, calling for the government to stop the sweeping federal cuts to public lands and protect the areas where millions of Americans work and play.
President Donald Trump’s administration has, so far, slashed about 1,000 National Park Service jobs and fired an additional 2,000 recently hired employees within the U.S. Forest Service — cuts that many say will put the future of these lands in jeopardy, as well as lead to unsafe hiking and camping for visitors, unmaintained washroom facilities and long service lines.
“We need to stop the nonsense,” John Goodwin, a now-retired longtime park service employee, told NBC Bay Area while protesting at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco. “We need to hire back the people who were fired, not only at national parks but every federal employee who has lost their job in the last six weeks.”
According to the New York Times, a group called Resistance Rangers, consisting of approximately 700 off-duty rangers, attempted to organize Saturday protests at the country’s 433 national parks. At least 145 of those sites saw protests, Nick Graver, a student involved in the organizing efforts, told the outlet.
Graver said the Resistance Rangers are concerned not only about the job cuts, but also possible threats to national monuments and resource extraction on public lands.
The firings, which weren’t publicly announced but were confirmed by Democratic senators and House members, come amid what has been a chaotic rollout of an aggressive program to eliminate thousands of federal jobs. The plan is led by billionaire Elon Musk and the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump administration effort to slash federal spending.
“Fewer staff means shorter visitor centre hours, delayed openings and closed campgrounds,″ Kristen Brengel, senior vice-president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group, told the Associated Press in February.
Trash will pile up, restrooms won’t be cleaned and maintenance problems will grow, she predicted. Guided tours will be cut back or cancelled and, in the worst cases, public safety could be at risk.
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