I never considered myself an outdoorsy person. Growing up, I hated bugs, dirt, and the itchy feeling of sitting on grass for too long.
The idea of sleeping like a sardine in a tent, lacking internet access, and not being able to take a proper shower for days on end just did not appeal to me at all. However, a singular trip last year that I thought was going to be a waste of another ski-week away from my friends, turned me into a nature-lover. The bright orange tunnels and arches in Zion National Park and the golden snow-covered peaks of Bryce Canyon National Park provided an equally eye-opening and breathtaking experience that completely shifted my perspective.
However, due to changes in federal funding, this experience may become harder to come by for other people.
National parks are protected areas of land meant to preserve natural resources and ecosystems, as well as provide public recreation at a low cost. However, to be able to offer public enjoyment and remain protected, they require federal funding.
The Trump Administration has cut or reduced several federally funded programs, leaving many without jobs, including the National Park Service (NPS). Despite receiving 331 million visits last year alone, on Feb. 14, the NPS was forced to cut 5% of their employees across the country, leaving about 1,000 people unemployed.
The National Park Service heavily relies on staffing to create the best and safest experience for visitors. It usually employs around 6,000 seasonal workers per year, however, this year, the organization can’t afford more than 200 possible new hires for summer. This is also because the human resources staff that addresses seasonal hires has also been reduced. The cutting of NPS employees directly affects national park visitors and their safety.
Park rangers specialize in many different jobs, one of the most important being rescue services. According to the NIH, even experienced hikers undergo accidents on challenging terrain, however, there have always been search and rescue (SAR) teams on-site to aid injured visitors. With only 50% of all SAR teams remaining, visitors are more likely to have to wait longer for a response, which may be life-threatening for those in dangerous situations.
Due to a lack of staff, some parks have closed off some of their more rocky trails. The Appalachian Trail, which the NPS also protects, hasn’t been able to reopen after hurricane damage because of a shortage of trail-repair employees. Yosemite National Park has also had similar problems, which affects all visitors who are forced to cut their trips short since many of the park’s most astounding sights are closed-off.
In an attempt to remedy the situation and keep as many employees as possible, the National Park Service has employed more partly-remote workers. While this allows greater flexibility, the cost of living close to national parks is already very high, and with more partially off-site workers it is an even greater struggle to find affordable housing. Some park rangers have had to relocate to cities and communities hours away from the parks.
The cut in funding doesn’t only affect the park rangers but the environment they protect as well. Besides providing recreation for humans, the National Park Service protects natural resources from harvesting, as well as flora and fauna. The lack of budget makes the future of conservation uncertain, as fewer people are available to enforce the conservation efforts and keep national parks clean.
Guarding diverse ecosystems and largely untouched land, national parks protect clean water and air, which are essential to human life as well as climate change mitigation. Threatening the NPS threatens not only biodiversity, public safety and recreation, and the jobs of thousands of park rangers but the future of all national parks as well.
If not intercepted, the defunding of the NPS could eventually extend into the privatization of national parks, which would allow private industries to run the protected areas. In which case, private owners could charge high admission prices, drill the land for resources, or alter the purpose of the land completely.
The breathtaking scenery could be flattened to build housing, or provide on-site tourist attractions like hang gliding or parachuting, ultimately creating more opportunities to put money in the pockets of private industries.
The threats to national parks have allowed me to realize that long hikes and sleeping in tents weren’t punishments inflicted by my parents, but ways to connect with my family without distractions and appreciate the often overlooked nature around me.
Now, I would love nothing more than to pile up every camping necessity currently tucked away somewhere in the garage, into my dad’s blue pick-up truck and set off on a 7-hour drive to Utah. I’d love to argue with my brother throughout the entire drive, love to complain about leg cramps and love to listen to my parents’ favorite bands knowing that the park ranger in the toll booth would be awaiting our arrival with a smile on their face.
