Washington, DC — The Trump administration’s hiring freeze could not come at a worse time for national parks as they seek to staff up for summer, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which is asking Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum to intervene. The short window for securing the services of as many as 8,000 seasonal rangers, maintenance workers, and other needed staff is closing fast as parks remain in the grips of politically perpetrated personnel paralysis.

Many major national parks, particularly in the West, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, hire a large number of temporary employees to work four-to-six-month stints in a wide variety of positions, ranging from backcountry patrols to reservation clerks. After a dip during the COVID pandemic, national park visitation has reached record-high levels even as staffing has lagged.

Some parks may be unable to function unless the freeze is lifted soon. In the Washington, DC, area, for example, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is one park whose operation depends almost entirely on seasonal positions. Without the ability to hire their seasonal staff, there will be no performances at the park this summer.

“Many of our most popular national parks will be unable to operate without their seasonal employees,” stated PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse, pointing out that the Interior Secretary could clarify matters so that parks can gear up hiring plans now, as that process can take months to complete. “The hiring freeze contains an exemption for emergency hires, but that has yet to be translated into firm guidance that individual parks can rely upon.”

Despite booming visitation, overall national park staffing is down by more than 25% in the decade between 2010 and 2020. Those shortfalls have yet to be recouped. Meanwhile, the decline in the ranks of law enforcement rangers has been even more severe, dropping to a generational low, even as park emergencies, such as searches and rescues have skyrocketed.

The hiring freeze has reportedly forced the National Park Service (NPS) to rescind seasonal job offers to 400 people, although that number may be conservative. In addition, the hiring freeze prevents parks from filling permanent vacancies. The problem of vacancies in permanent staff will be aggravated by Trump’s recent efforts to force staff into a deferred resignation program.

At the same time, recent NPS hires are at risk of dismissal from a Trump directive ordering review from potential dismissal of all employees still in their probationary period (typically during their first year). As a result, both permanent and seasonal park staffing is in heavy flux.

“The lost or injured backcountry hiker waiting in vain for aid should not be the casualty of a Musk-Trump war of the federal government,” added Whitehouse, noting that staff shortages have been a factor in dismal NPS morale scores. “Our national parks are poorly positioned to weather this storm.”

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Read PEER letter to Interior Secretary Burgum

Read the email to seasonal hires

Look at decline in overall national park staffing

See steep drop in ranks of park law enforcement rangers

Examine poor NPS employee morale