National park layoffs hit Shenandoah National Park
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Shenandoah National Park in the fall. Photo: Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images
The ongoing federal government layoffs are affecting Virginia national parks and forests, including Shenandoah National Park.
Why it matters: Tourism to Virginia's 22 national parks, trails and historic sites contributed $1.5 billion to the state's economy in 2023, according to a federal report released last year.
The big picture: The Trump administration is cutting about 1,000 National Park Service and 3,400 Forest Service positions nationwide.
Zoom in: At Shenandoah National Park, 15 NPS employees were let go, Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, tells Axios.
- Three workers at Colonial park in Jamestown, one apiece at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania military parks, George Washington Birthplace and Manassas battlefield also lost their jobs, Wade added.
- Wade has been with the ranger association since he retired from NPS in the 1990s after a "lifetime" with national parks.
- His last NPS role was as superintendent of Shenandoah National Park.
- He's relied on his network of contacts and park workers to compile the numbers.
At Shenandoah, the workers cut included fee collectors and trail maintenance employees, according to the Associated Press.
Zoom out: Maintenance workers, people who collect entrance fees and rangers who provide tours and educational services were hit the hardest, Wade said.
- He said park rangers with law enforcement commissions appear to have been exempted from the NPS layoffs.
State of play: It's unclear how Virginia sites will be affected by the job losses.
- As of Friday, Skyline Drive, part of Shenandoah National Park, had been closed for a week due to downed trees and snow from mid-week storms, per the park's website.
- The park's Big Meadows visitor center had also been closed for a week due to a Feb. 14 power outage and storm damage.
- An outgoing voicemail on Shenandoah's main visitor's line says it's no longer monitored by staff. Calls to an alternate number were not answered by press time.
On Friday, Virginia's Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Tim Kaine who last year published a book about his love of Virginia's parks and natural resources, sent a letter to the Trump administration calling for a reversal of the jobs cuts.
What they're saying: "These roles are critical to protecting America's treasured natural assets, maintaining public safety, and promoting exceptional standards expected at national parks across Virginia and the nation," they wrote.
Meanwhile, among park service employees who kept their jobs, "morale is way down," Wade told Axios.
- "There's a lot of uncertainty," Wade said. "The administration is still talking about making more cuts in federal employment, so everyone is kind of on edge."