The Trump administration has aggressively aimed to cut national park spending. First of all, it was decided that staff should be cut. This has become a serious problem for national parks and historic sites, as they are now experiencing a severe shortage of specialists.
Lack of specialists
Yosemite National Park lost its only locksmith in charge of repair work. As a result, there is no one to fix doors and plumbing in tourist rooms. They have to hire specialists from nearby cities. The park management has postponed booking places for the summer in tent camps. The staff that remained to work protested several times against the dismissal of employees. It was not possible to achieve any significant results.
This is despite the fact that the entire infrastructure of such camps is fully prepared. Guests have access to food, various types of services, and high-speed wireless Internet. The latter is especially important, as it allows you to find a variety of entertainment in bad weather or in the evening. In general, traveling with the Internet has become a standard for modern people.
As statistics show, many park guests prefer to watch sports broadcasts. And cricket has been popular recently. Often, people make bets right while watching. According to a large website about bookmakers, such bets have become possible with the help of convenient mobile applications. Today, such apps are used by a considerable part of park visitors. The demand for high-speed internet is relatively high. And the park must have technicians to keep this internet up and running.
Grand Canyon National Park laid off four employees at the south entrance. Now, motorists’ wait time has doubled. Tourists have to stand in line for about two hours to get into the national park. It is worth noting that the southern entrance serves almost 5 million tourists annually, which is 90% of the total flow. The lack of staff will negatively impact the entire national park. As the summer season approaches, the problems will become more significant.
The road to crisis
Existing staffing shortages could lead to a significant crisis in the field. Over 325 million people visited U.S. national parks in 2023. Compared with 2010, the growth amounted to 16%, but the number of staff decreased by 13%.
The authorities covered themselves with the fact that they fired those staff on probation. As it turned out, this is just a cover. Each employee, when changing positions, goes through a 12-month probationary period. So, the list of people laid off included people who had worked in the country’s national parks all their lives. The report even gives examples: Ernest Wingate worked 15 seasons at Sequoia National Wildlife Refuge, but he was fired because the employee changed positions and was on probation.
National Parks Development
National parks are considered one of the best ideas in the United States. They attract hundreds of millions of tourists annually and are constantly showing growth. These parks may become even more popular if advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence are utilized. After all, scientists have recently claimed the effectiveness of AI in protecting the environment.
However, laying off employees will affect the quality of service and the parks themselves. The Trump administration will continue to fire dedicated professionals. Several phases of staff reductions are planned for the next few years.