Yosemite National Park is on the verge of a ‘catastrophic’ staffing shortage thanks to Trump’s hiring freeze
Yosemite National Park is facing a “catastrophic” staffing shortage because of the Trump administration’s hiring freeze and attempt to slash federal spending.
In recent weeks the White House has rescinded hundreds of job offers and layoffs are incoming as the park is set to enter its busiest season, according to reports. It comes as Yosemite Superintendent Cicely Muldoon is on the brink of retirement.
Current and former National Park Service staffers, nonprofit leaders and other experts told SFGATE that the park’s efforts, decades in the making, to protect its ecosystems are going awry.
Former Yosemite Superintendent Don Neubacher called the staffing shortage “catastrophic” when speaking to the outlet. National Wildlife Federation Regional Executive Director Beth Pratt said she has “never seen anything like this in my 55 years.”
“Just to want to gut the Park Service? I don’t understand it,” she added.
A founding member of tour operator Echo Adventure Cooperative, Elizabeth Barton, called the situation “terrifying.”
“We’re deeply concerned about the long-term health of Yosemite National Park under the current administration,” Barton told SFGATE.
The national park has about 750 staff members in the summer, according to Gripped magazine. Those staff members are responsible for 1.6 million visitors in the summer and the park’s 750,000 acres.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order freezing hiring in the federal government. Thousands of employees in the middle of their onboarding processes were told in emails that their job offers were rescinded.
Rangers and fee technicians collecting fees at entrances and campgrounds who were two months into the hiring process were suddenly let go, leading to chaos at the park as it appeared that the hiring freeze had been improperly applied to seasonal staff.
The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo on January 20 stating that there were some exemptions to the hiring freeze, including that “seasonal employees and short-term temporary employees necessary to meet traditionally recurring seasonal workloads” weren’t included.
But days passed without any corrective action. On January 28, the Trump administration offered a buyout to millions of federal staff, including Yosemite employees. The emails sent to staff discussed future reductions to the federal workforce.
The emails warned that “we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity.”
On Thursday, the Trump administration extended its efforts to fire thousands of probationary workers, who have usually been employed for less than a year or, in some cases, two years. Trump officials have been setting their sights on probationary workers as they have fewer job protections and don’t have the right to appeal.
