What is Happening to National Park Staff?

According to the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association, all 1,000 of the probationary National Park Service employees terminated in February were allowed to be reinstated in March, after court orders determined their firings were illegal. Additionally, despite a hiring freeze ordered by President Donald Trump on his first day in office, the National Park Service was approved in February to hire thousands of seasonal workers, as it does each year. While some uncertainty remains about the stability of some positions, multiple park advocates and experts have told USA TODAY one thing is clear: the National Park Service was already understaffed before all this. 'For a long time actually, the park staff have been stretched quite thin,' Silkes said.

What Do Visitors Need to Know Before Going to a National Park?

Planning is always important, but park advocates say it's especially important now. The National Park Service's website offers a wealth of tips to 'plan like a park ranger,' as well as details on each park and any applicable reservation requirements. Visitors will also find up-to-date weather alerts and closure advisories. Visitors can use the free National Park Service app to download park-specific information and maps before their visit, in case they lose cell reception in the parks. Guidebooks are another resource visitors can carry along. 'It may be that visitors are a little bit more on their own this year, and that can be frightening a little bit, I think, to visitors,' Manning said. 'It's frightening to the welfare of the parks as well, because we need well-informed visitors when they get to the parks.' He and others stressed the importance of personal safety and practicing Leave No Trace principles to help protect the parks. 'I think this is a moment where we have realized the fragility, in many ways, of our public lands, and if we can lean into that feeling that many of us have had about how important it is to protect them, if that is infused in our visits and our planning for visits, perhaps that prompts a new way of looking at all we see in the parks,' Silkes said, encouraging visitors to also thank park rangers. She said visitors who want to do more to show their support can donate to friends association groups and parks conservancies, volunteer and write to lawmakers. 'This country works best when everyone shares their perspective and what they feel most strongly about with their representatives,' she said. 'It's important to recognize how important these places are, not only in this moment, but in protecting them long into the future.'

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GCC CEO Featured in USA Today Article

GCC CEO Featured in USA Today Article

GCC CEO, Elizabeth Silkes, recently spoke with USA Today, encouraging people to show their support for our national parks by visiting.

Read the full article, "Are national parks still open? Recent layoff news shouldn't stop you from visiting" by Eve Chen, Senior Consumer Travel Reporter at USA Today.

Elizabeth Silkes, CEO of Grand Canyon Conservancy, the official nonprofit partner of Grand Canyon National Park, encouraged visits.
"It's a perfect time to visit national parks, to show your support for public lands in this country and our shared appreciation for the stories they share," she said. "This is a moment to lean into what time spent in nature provides us, and it's also a moment for a new kind of questioning when we are in these spaces: What is our role in protecting them? What can we do to better amplify their needs?"

USA Today article by Eve Chen.

Originally Published: 04-29-2025 Last Updated: 05-06-2025

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GCC CEO Featured in USA Today Article