Unusual staffing scenarios are occurring across US national parks due to budget cuts from the Trump administration. A quarter of permanent National Park Service (NPS) staff have been lost since January. Archeologists and ecologists are taking on roles such as staffing ticket booths and visitor centers, with superintendents even cleaning toilets. Despite decreased personnel, the administration has demanded that parks remain open, causing essential conservation efforts to be sidelined. There is a sense of frustration among employees who feel unable to serve the public effectively due to the constraints on their capabilities.
Across the US's fabled but overstretched national parks, unusual scenes are playing out this summer following budget cuts by Donald Trump's administration. Archeologists are staffing ticket booths, ecologists are covering visitor centers and the superintendents of parks are even cleaning the toilets.
The National Park Service (NPS), responsible for maintaining cherished wildernesses and sites of cultural importance from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, has lost a quarter of its permanent staff since Trump took office in January.
This has meant much of the behind-the-scenes work to protect endangered species, battle invasive plants, fix crumbling infrastructure or plan for the future needs of the US's trove of natural wonders has been jettisoned.
It's frustrating to realize you can't execute your talents to be the best steward of these public resources because we are just trying to keep the parks open.
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