Chattahoochee River, Cumberland Island lose staff amid mass firings
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U.S. national park units in Georgia lost workers amid the Trump administration's purge of federal employees, per an unofficial tally shared with Axios by a park ranger.
Why it matters: The firings means fewer workers are available to do critical jobs ahead of the busy summer travel season, including lifesaving search-and-rescue missions.
Zoom in: Georgia locations that lost workers include the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (4), Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park (3), Andersonville National Historic Site (1) and Cumberland Island National Seashore (1), according to the tally.
- The spreadsheet was shared with Axios by a U.S. park ranger who requested anonymity to protect their job and employment prospects.
- The document, which shows 756 total firings as of March 4, is based on reports from hundreds of rangers and other park workers in multiple online groups.
Caveat: Because it's a crowdsourced effort, the document is likely incomplete and undercounts the full breadth of the firings.
- The National Parks Conservation Association, an independent parks advocacy group, says more than 1,000 park staffers were fired on Feb. 14.
By the numbers: 325.5 million people visited U.S. national parks in 2023, up nearly 20% from a decade earlier.
Threat level: Many national parks have been struggling to deal with the glut of visitors, as well as the traffic and trash they bring.
What they're saying: After the firings, "I don't think the parks are equipped to be able to handle the visitation that they get," says the ranger who shared the document with Axios.
The other side: NPS "is hiring seasonal workers to continue enhancing the visitor experience as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management," a spokesperson said in a statement.
- "We are focused on ensuring that every visitor has the chance to explore and connect with the incredible, iconic spaces of our national parks."
NPS did not provide an official count of firings by park and did not comment on the tally in the spreadsheet.
- The ranger countered that new seasonal workers can't replace the institutional knowledge lost by firing park veterans.
Details: Yosemite National Park lost its only locksmith, the document shows. That appears to be a worker named Nate Vince, who shared their story separately on Instagram.
- "Well now 3 weeks short of my probationary period I've been fired. I've had exemplary performance and am essential for park operations. The people that fired me don't know who I am, or what I do. They simply don't understand this park and how big and complex it is."
The response: Protestors demonstrated at parks nationwide this past weekend, while upside-down American flags — a traditional symbol of distress — have been hung at Yosemite, Joshua Tree and Rocky Mountain National Park in recent days.