Visits to the national park set high records last year, with agents reporting reports of deep cuts
As the Trump administration continues to cut federal labor, the National Park Service (losing nearly 10% of its staff, cutting sharp cuts), just reported that in 2024, 2024, it set a record in its parks to be accessible.
Last year, nearly 332 million people appeared on hiking, camping or just breathing fresh air in U.S. national parks. That’s 6 million more than the previous year, and the number of visits increased by one million from the record set in 2016.
The news came as park supervisors scrambled to figure out how they kept the park clean and kept visitors safe this summer as hundreds of permanent workers were lost. On February 14, about 1,000 National Park Service employees, usually two years before service, were fired, and thousands of other trial federal employees, as part of a polynomial clearance orchestrated by Elon Musk’s White House consulting team, which he calls the Government Efficiency Division or Doge.
On the other side, more than 700 park service workers are participating in the Trump administration’s buyout program, which allows federal employees to resign now but continue to receive salaries and benefits through September. Such programs usually attract older employees who are close to retirement.
“This is a slap faced by hundreds of millions of people who explored our parks last year and wanted to keep moving forward,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs at the nonprofit National Park Conservancy. “Americans love their national parks; these cuts have no public support.”
It can be said that the National Park Service is the most popular branch of a large and huge federal bureaucracy. Even Americans who might have some loss in the alphabet soup of other institutions (more than 400 of them) may never forget to stand in the Yosemite Valley and quietly miraculously among towering waterfalls.
The first cuts announced by the Trump administration in January were cuts to tens of thousands of seasonal workers who charge admission fees, clean toilets and help conduct search and rescue operations – sparking swift and fierce opposition.
The Trump administration has resumed seasonal positions after a coordinated social media campaign between park workers and outdoor enthusiasts nationwide and vowed to hire hundreds of temporary workers this year.
But this is a notable exception to the government’s seemingly risk-cutting strategy.
In total, the National Park Service lost about 1,700 permanent employees of about 20,000 employees.
Brenger said the losses occurred within nearly 15 years, while the park service operation budget increased significantly. “This means many employees have done more than one job and have been doing it for years,” she said.
California has nine national parks, more than any other state, including famous locations such as Yosemite, Joshua Tree and Death Valley. Their towering cliffs and star-studded night sky are the backdrop for millions of family vacations each year. According to the Park Services website, more than 4 million visited Yosemite last year, and nearly 3 million visited Joshua Tree and about 1.4 million visited.
News of last year’s record visit has been posted on the agency’s website, but there are no usual celebrations. Instead, it was more of a cautious whisper, indicating the general sentiment of the federal labor force today.
“You hear a lot of rumors, especially in Washington, D.C. People are fired for doing anything that goes against the Trump administration’s agenda,” Brengal said. “Everyone is scared.”
National Park Service officials did not respond to requests for comment.
