Washington, D.C. — In the midst of a devastating wildfire season, the Trump administration has announced a massive reorganization of the Department of Agriculture that would eliminate the nine regional offices of the U.S. Forest Service. These regional office managers serve as advocates for local needs and provide national forest supervisors with critical, on-the-ground information. Without them, the Trump administration threatens to drain conservation capacity across the country and increases the risk of uncontained wildfires.
This week, a man tragically drowned at the Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland, just days after Maryland policymakers urged the Trump administration to restore lifeguard positions in the area that had been removed due to National Park Service staffing problems. As visitors flock to national beaches and parks this summer, the administration’s staffing and budget restrictions continue to pose a serious danger to the American people.
The following news roundup calls attention to threats to the National Park Service as the busiest season of the year for parks continues. This newsletter is brought to you by the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR), a coalition of former and current national parks staff — ranging from maintenance workers to biologists — that aims to support and protect the National Park Service by highlighting its employees’ diverse stories. As millions of Americans take advantage of all that our country’s public lands have to offer, this newsletter will elevate key stories and reports of the summer of crisis for our national parks.
Mountain Journal: Forest Service to Abandon Nine Regional Offices
By Robert Chaney | July 25, 2025
The U.S. Forest Service will abandon its nine regional offices as its parent Department of Agriculture consolidates out of Washington, D.C., according to a memo released Thursday by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
[...] The reorganization plan left many Forest Service experts wondering what the benefit would be, including former Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth, who served during the George W. Bush administration.
Missoula Current: Huge USDA reorg eliminates Ag offices, USFS regions
By Laura Lundquist | July 26, 2025
A Trump administration reorganization of the Department of Agriculture would eliminate U.S. Forest Service regional headquarters and significantly change or eliminate some agency functions.
On Thursday, U.S. Department of Agriculture secretary Brook L. Rollins issued a secretarial memorandum detailing a reorganization plan for the Department of Agriculture, including the U.S. Forest Service, that takes effect immediately.
NPR: Cuts to the U.S. Forest Service are impacting popular trails during peak hiking season
By Ayesha Rascoe | July 27, 2025
Recent cuts to the U.S. Forest Service could affect the maintenance of popular hiking trails during peak season. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Jeff Kish of the Pacific Northwest Trail Association.
Summer is in full swing, and that means peak hiking season in much of the country. But hikers may run into wilder experiences than expected - downed trees blocking the way or washed out trails. That's because of steep staffing and budget cuts to the U.S. Forest Service.
Sky-Hi News: Colorado state forester, Grand County fire chief raise alarm about further federal cuts that would impact fire preparedness
By Ryan Spencer | July 27, 2025
As wildfire season picks up in Colorado, Fire Chief Brad White, of Grand Fire Protection District No. 1, says he’s worried “there’s not a lot of extra help to be had this summer.”
Mass layoffs and voluntary resignation programs under the Trump administration have reshaped federal agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service, that typically work in close coordination with local and state officials to not only battle wildfires but prepare for and protect against them.
The Wenatchee World: Seasonal staff shortages affecting popular Forest Service sites, employees
By Jenni Rodas | July 28, 2025
The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is facing staffing shortages this summer, impacting maintenance and management of popular recreation areas.
"We're in kind of in the middle of summer now and recreation is definitely hitting into its full use," said Katijo Maher, president of Local 34, which represents National Federation of Federal Employees. "The majority of the hits really came affected recreation, with the inability to hire seasonal employees."
Sheridan Press: Forest Service cuts lead to uncertain future for Cloud Peak Wilderness Watch
By Georgia Lodewyk | July 29, 2025
In a series of emails to Wilderness Watch members Ahrens and Craig Cope, BNF Administrative Officer Heather Trussel and Forest Supervisor Andrew Johnson said the BNF no longer had the authority to sell commercially-derived map products like the Cloud Peak Wilderness Map.
Ahrens said these map sales only brought in around $2,000 each year, but this money was essential for building the organization’s $13,000 treasury. But once the piggy bank is emptied, Ahrens said the Wilderness Watch doesn’t have another way to keep going.
Maven’s Notebook: AG ALERT: Federal forestry cuts fuel wildfire, resource concerns
By Christine Souza | July 30, 2025
As wildfire conditions across California are expected to increase steadily through the summer, state officials this month expressed concerns about cuts in staff and funding at federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, a division within the Agriculture Department that partners with the state to fight wildfires and manage forests.
California is home to 18 national forests, with 48% of its land owned and managed by the federal government.
KCLY Radio: Delayed Federal Funds Threaten Kansas Forest Service Programs as Budget Year Nears End
July 29, 2025
Representative Sharice Davids is calling on U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to immediately release federal funding owed to the Kansas Forest Service (KFS). Although Congress approved the funds nearly five months ago, the Trump Administration has yet to distribute them.
KFS relies on federal support for 60–80% of its annual budget. Without the funds, the agency faces significant statewide cuts. The delayed funding supports firefighter training, rural fire departments, forest health programs, urban tree-planting, and invasive species control.
People: 18-Year-Old Drowns at Popular Maryland Beach Days After Lawmakers Warned 'Lives Are at Risk' Due to Lifeguard Shortage
By Bailey Richards | July 27, 2025
A man has drowned at a popular Maryland beach just days after politicians asked the Trump administration to restore lifeguard staffing in the area, arguing in a letter that "lives are at risk."
[...] The man was swimming with one other person near the southern end of Assateague’s Chincoteague Beach Parking Lot when they both began “struggling in the water,” the NPS said. At 4:15 p.m. local time, a “relative ran down the beach” to alert lifeguards to the struggling swimmers, who were “well offshore,” the federal agency said.
USA Today: 18-year-old swimmer drowns at Assateague Island weeks after request for more lifeguards
By Julia Gomez | July 28, 2025
Less than two weeks before the drowning, on July 11, 2025, U.S. Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen sent a letter to the Trump administration requesting lifeguard positions in the Maryland portion of Assateague Island National Seashore to be filled after budget cuts and staffing shortages left them vacant, according to Delmarva Now, a part of the USA TODAY Network.
"Drownings happen in minutes, and there is no substitute for attentive lifeguards specifically assigned to monitoring water safety at Assateague," the letter stated.
Baltimore Sun: After Assateague Island drowning, federal park beaches on Maryland side remain unguarded, despite lawmakers’ pleas
By Brendan Nordstrom | July 30, 2025
A drowning death off an Assateague Island National Seashore beach last Thursday came less than two weeks after Maryland lawmakers implored the Trump administration to restore lifeguard services to the popular summer destination.
While lifeguard services have returned to the Virginia end of Assateague Island through a local, county and federal cost-sharing agreement for contracted lifeguards, the Maryland end remains unguarded.
National Parks Traveler: Dragon Bravo Fire Continues To Grow On Grand Canyon's North Rim
By Kurt Repanshek | July 27, 2025
Day after day after day of "critical fire weather" has pushed the Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to more than 44,000 acres and into the Kaibab National Forest.
Since Friday morning the fire has grown by more than 15,000 acres, to 44,429 by Sunday morning, according to the morning briefing report. The more than 1,000 firefighters tackling the blaze, aided by aerial bombardments of water and fire retardant, managed to hold containment at 26 percent of the fire's footprint.
Arizona Republic: Feds thinned Grand Canyon fuels before Dragon Bravo Fire, but some work was years old
By Brandon Loomis | July 28, 2025
Areas of Grand Canyon’s North Rim and the adjacent Kaibab Plateau that erupted into flame in early July have seen repeated federal actions aimed at reducing fuels that could lead to such a calamity.
Whether it was enough — or in frequent enough cycles — is one scientific and political question looming in the fallout from the destruction of Grand Canyon Lodge. One lawmaker has called for logging within Grand Canyon National Park to prevent future fires.
Arizona Republic: Containment of Grand Canyon fire burning on North Rim shrinks to 13%
By Rey Covarrubias Jr. | July 28, 2025
Firefighters battling one of two northern Arizona wildfires, near the Grand Canyon's North Rim, lost a portion of containment due to dry, windy weather conditions, according to fire command officials.
On July 28, containment of the Dragon Bravo Fire was cut in half from the previous day. Containment of the 45,000-acre fire, which is the percentage of hose lines or barriers around the blaze, dropped to 13%, according to the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team 2.
ABC 7 Denver: Colorado wildfires: New fire flares up near Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
By Robert Garrison | July 27, 2025
A small fire flared up near the more than 4,000-acre South Rim Fire in Black Canyon National Park on Sunday. The fire, burning in Montrose County, forced the closure of U.S. Highway 50 at Finnegan.
Seattle Times: Firefighters work around clock to protect Staircase area of Olympic National Park
By Isabella Breda | July 28, 2025
The Bear Gulch fire continues to burn along Lake Cushman, backing toward the popular Staircase area of Olympic National Park.
[...] Clark said firefighters are constructing fireline along the edge of the fire, to keep the fire to the smallest footprint.
Over 200 personnel, including firefighters, are assigned to the fires.
National Parks Traveler: Crews Battle Wildfire In Yellowstone National Park
July 31, 2025
A wildfire broke out Wednesday in the southwest corner of Yellowstone National Park, prompting some trail and backcountry campsite closures.
[...] The fire danger level for Yellowstone is currently rated "high." Fire danger in the adjacent Grand Tetons National Park is "very high." High fire danger means wildfires are likely to start easily and can spread rapidly. They can also be diffiult to contain, especially under windy conditions.
CBC News: Wildfires are burning in at least two national parks. Here's what's fueling the intense flames.
July 31, 2025
Firefighters are battling wildfires in at least two national parks. The Dragon Bravo Fire is burning at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and has exploded to more than 94,000 acres. On Wednesday, firefighters responded to the Ash Fire in a remote section of Yellowstone National Park. It's one of several fires crews have battled there since early July.
Inside Climate News: How the Trump Budget Cuts Are Playing Out at Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park
By Paloma Beltran | July 26, 2025
You may be planning a national park visit this summer, but whether you’re camping in Yosemite or hiking in Shenandoah, you might notice that there’s fewer staff around.
That’s because national parks are undergoing significant changes under the second Trump administration. There have been increased layoffs and budget cuts, stretching park employees thin to perform additional duties.
PBS News: How funding cuts to national parks may harm the communities around them
By Ali Rogin & Kaisha Young | July 27, 2025
From the towering peaks of Yosemite to the vast canyons of Zion, America’s national parks have long been considered national treasures. But federal funding cuts imposed by the Trump administration are leaving a mark on these iconic landscapes and the communities that surround them. Ali Rogin reports from New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia.
The Travel: Mount Rainier National Park Conditions Called "Unsustainable" By Visitors And It's Hard To Argue With The Evidence
By Alessandro Passalalpi | July 29, 2025
Similar to most national parks around the United States, Mount Rainier National Park is seeing a massive spike in visitors. According to the data compiled from the National Park Service, visitation numbers have increased by 40% over the last decade.
Although this can be viewed as a positive, it has also resulted in overcrowding during the summer. This, in turn, can harm the ecosystem, causing negative long-term effects due to the land's fragility.
Washington Post: In beloved national parks, summer crowds throng despite budget cuts
By Karin Brulliard, Kim Bellware, Karen Miller Pensiero, & Molly Hennessy-Fiske | July 30, 2025
The National Park Service, like other federal agencies, has been hit hard by President Donald Trump’s government reorganization. Firings, early retirements and job freezes have diminished the long-underfunded system’s permanent employees by nearly a quarter, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. As of July, the advocacy group tallied, just over half of the target number of seasonal workers had been hired to help manage the crowds.
The Conversation: Yosemite embodies the long war over US national park privatization
By Michael Childers | July 31, 2025
The Trump administration’s cuts to the National Park Service’s budget and staffing have raised concerns among park advocates and the public that the administration is aiming to further privatize the national parks.
The nation has a long history of similar efforts, including a wildly unpopular 1980 attempt by Reagan administration Interior Secretary James Watt to promote development and expand private concessions in the parks. But debate over using public national park land for private profit dates back more than a century before that.
National Parks Traveler: More Travel Constraints Placed On National Park Service Staff
By Kurt Repanshek | July 25, 2025
Another layer of constraints has been placed on National Park Service employees who need to travel for work.
[...] Those attending conferences must provide an agenda of the meeting along with their authorization request, as well as details on "session purposes and personal objectives for attendance."
[...] "The administration has carelessly fired staff or pushed them to leave. This memo is evidence of their thoughtless behavior," said Kristen Brengel, NPCA's senior vice president for government affairs.
Arkansas Times: Librarians catalogue Trumpian efforts to censor National Park exhibits
By Milo Strain | July 25, 2025
An organization at the University of Minnesota has launched a campaign to preserve displays at sites managed by the National Park Service in response to the Trump administration’s efforts to censor exhibits and information about slavery, climate change and other heated topics.
The Salt Lake Tribune: Inside Trump’s push to charge international visitors more at national parks. Will this help Arches, other Utah parks?
By Helen Huiskes | July 25, 2025
Soon, however, those foreign travelers will likely face higher entry fees at America’s national parks. It’s part of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on July 3 to impose higher fees on international visitors, and now a Senate bill to codify that order, led by Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana.
But Senate Democrats are hesitant to get behind the effort, noting that many states and local economies rely on park tourists.
