What's REALLY Going on in National Parks during the Government Shut Down?
What's Up with National Parks During the Government Shutdown?
After a summer of traveling in the Maritime and Atlantic Provinces of Northeast Canada, we finally crossed the U.S. border and into Maine about a week ago. With its small towns, coastal roads, nearly 4,000 islands, it offers a nice soft landing for us after our remote travels where rush hour means that the caribou joined us for dinner. We're not quite ready for most East Coast U.S. traffic!
We spent a few days in Downeast Maine at Acadia National Park. This park is dear to our hearts, because it's the first US park that we visited with Hamlet (2012) and also the first in which we volunteered in the Education Program during the spring and fall seasons (2015). We wore the Volunteer Ranger hats and tan shirts, and felt so wicked cool when we walked into a third grade classroom.
Through visits this week with our friends who remain connected with the park, they've confirmed our fears and what we've been seeing on social media and reading in the news -- we're in the middle of a systematic reduction in personnel managing our shared resources on the federal level. But while they draw down staff, the visitors are still coming, July 2025 saw a new 1-month record for visitations at Acadia, nearly 800K! Even during the few days of our visit during the shoulder season, we saw full parking lots, busy trails, and lots of activity everywhere. It's clear that our National Parks are still crazy popular, still important to our people, but what's happening in the infrastructure?
Acadia had around 90 full-timers and around 150 part-timers hired for the busiest time of year (May to October). Those interested in a career in the Park Service often start in seasonal jobs and build experience to be considered when a full-time position comes open. When someone does move to a full-time status they are considered "probationary" during the next two years. Likewise, if they move from one full-time position to another. So staff may have been with the Park Service for 10 years, but because of a classification, they are on "probation." You may recall that many of these staff were fired earlier in the year. Our Representatives in Congress used that term to make it appear that these folks were recently hired and inexperienced, but that's definitely not the whole story.
Many of these staff were offered their positions back after a lawsuit was brought against the government for wrongful termination, but by the time all of those legal proceedings had happened, many of staff had actually made different plans, found other jobs, moved, and so on during the intervening limbo -- as you would if you had bills to pay and a family to support! One such person moved from North Carolina to Maine into temporary park housing at Acadia when she started her new full-time position. She found a new apartment, signed a lease, moved all of her stuff, and then found out via email that she no longer had a job -- not from her supervisor, mind you, from a random person she'd never met. What would you do after you've just uprooted your life and relocated? Would you stick around, or would you dive into another search for a job somewhere else? Many people moved on, found new directions and didn't want to be in a situation where they could have the rug pulled out from underneath them again, "Fool me once..." For those folks who didn't return to those jobs, it's likely that those positions will not be filled.
More Resources:
- What a Federal Government Shutdown Means for National Parks (Nat'l Park Conservation Association)
- National Parks Caught in the Crosshairs of Government Shutdown (Nat'l Public Radio)
What Can You Do?
- Take Action! (Resistance Rangers)
- 5Calls (Call Your Reps!)
During the first six months of 2025, many full-time staff were given buy-outs as an incentive to retire early, or to flat out resign with a nice package. They had to make immediate decisions about their future, or lose the opportunity for any severance pay. If you saw the writing on the wall, would you stay or maybe take the incentive and move onto another chapter in your life? So some have left, others have stayed. Will those open positions be filled? That remains to be seen, but it's doubtful given the current situation.
All of this chaos created upheaval just as they were gearing up for their busy season! Morale was low, rangers were filled with anxiety over not knowing what would happen the next day -- misinformation and confusion was the only constant. That, and of course, their unwavering commitment to protecting OUR collective national treasures! Due to public outcry, they were required to stay open to the public to make it seem like "business as usual" -- despite a significantly reduced staff.
From our experience of visiting the park last week, many things were open: trails, park roads, and even a few parking area bathrooms. But the campgrounds, even Blackwoods (which is typically open year-round), visitor centers, environmental learning center, and the newly opened Acadia Gateway center are all closed. We saw some Maintenance staff, Search & Rescue, and Law Enforcement staff still on the job. These folks are considered essential and are currently working without pay. While chatting with one these Rangers, we learned that even the Park Superintendent is furloughed and the responsibilities of that position shifted to the Head of Law Enforcement.
Now, if you didn't know much about the park, and you were visiting during this time, you might not even notice the difference in the experience. You can still rent a bike in town, get onto the carriage roads, drive the park loop road, hike to Thunder Hole, even get popover sundaes at Jordan Pond House (operated by a park concessionaire). So, what's the big deal?
How long is the experience likely to remain similar with a skeleton crew managing the normal functions of a staff of nearly 250? How long until everything that is functioning starts to break down? With the entrance fees not being collected, anyone can drive into the park for free. Each day that goes by, fewer resources that are needed to support and maintain that park are coming in. If it's happening at one of the most highly visited parks in the nation, then it's happening elsewhere.
If you are still reading at this point, we assume you care as deeply about these national treasures as we do. If you haven't already, it's time to call, write, email, and visit your representatives in Washington. Share what is important to you, let them know how you feel about America's National Parks and public lands. It's the only way that they will know that you care about them deeply!
One of the things that really helps us during these times of deep division in our national dialogue is connecting with others, to not only strengthen those ties, but also to remind ourselves that we're not alone in our strong feelings.
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