Washington, D.C. — After a summer of budget cuts, mass layoffs, and wildfires, workers at three of California’s national parks — Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon — have come together and voted to unionize. More than 97 percent of employees at the three parks voted in favor of unionization, and the coalition of more than 600 staff members are now represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees. The vote is a reflection of concerns about workplace safety and job security as the Trump administration does everything it can to undermine our parks.
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.
San Francisco Chronicle: Workers at two popular California national parks are unionizing
By Gregory Thomas | August 29, 2025
Amid a tumultuous year for federal lands employees, workers at Yosemite and Sequoia Kings Canyon national parks have voted to unionize.
The proposition, introduced this summer, passed with more than 97 percent of workers at the two parks voting in support, according to the National Federation of Federal Employees, which announced the move Thursday.
The union claims to represent about 110,000 government workers nationwide. It wasn’t immediately clear how many workers would be covered, but their ranks include “Interpretive Park Rangers, educators, researchers, fee collectors, first responders, firefighters and other staff,” the union said.
“By unionizing, hundreds of previously unrepresented employees have obtained a critical voice in their workplace and now have the power to make significant changes to benefit themselves and their colleagues,” NFFE National President Randy Erwin said in the release.
Los Angeles Times: ‘Scared’ and angry: Here’s why workers unionized at Yosemite, Sequoia national parks
By Lila Seidman | September 1, 2025
For two years, labor organizers tried to unionize employees at a trio of celebrated California national parks, but they couldn’t reach critical mass.
Then came mass firings of National Park Service employees in February under the Trump administration. Many employees were reinstated, but litigation concerning the legality of the firings winds on. The park service has lost about a quarter of its staff since Trump reclaimed the White House, and that’s on top of a proposed $1-billion budget cut to the agency.
This summer the scales tipped. More than 97% of employees at Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks who cast ballots voted to unionize, with results certified last week. More than 600 staffers — including interpretive park rangers, biologists, firefighters and fee collectors — are now represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees.
Your Central Valley: Workers at Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks unionize
By Marco Rosas | September 1, 2025
Over 97 percent of park rangers, educators, researchers, fee collectors, first responders, firefighters and other staff at Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks voted in favor of unionizing, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) announced.
[...] According to Erwin, the decision to unionize was influenced in part by the current administration.
“Federal employees across the country have been faced with reductions in force, threats to workplace protections, and slashed agency budgets under this administration,” Erwin said. “NFFE will be taking every step possible to increase both staffing and resources, and to defend employees from actions that threaten their rights and the incredible work they do stewarding our public lands.”
The Guardian: Hundreds of staff at California national parks to unionize amid Trump turmoil
By Dani Anguiano | September 2, 2025
Hundreds of staff at two of California’s most popular national parks have voted to unionize, a move that comes during a troubled summer for the National Park Service, which has seen the Trump administration enact unprecedented staff and budget cuts.
In an election held between July and August, more than 97% of workers at Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks voted in support of organizing a union, according to a statement from the National Federation of Federal Employees. The Federal Labor Relations Authority certified the results last week.
Boston Globe: ‘How do you protect a place like this?’ At Acadia National Park, Trump’s cuts spark fear about its future.
By Jim Puzzanghera | August 29, 2025
On the surface, things looked normal at Acadia this summer. And that’s exactly the image the Trump administration sought to project here and at other national parks despite cutting year-round staff by an estimated 24 percent across the country — leaving Acadia with more than 50 of its 130 authorized positions vacant—and proposing to slash next year’s budget by about $1 billion.
Still, many park visitors are aware of the cutbacks and carried that anxiety about the fate of Acadia with them on the Island Explorer shuttle.
“How do you protect a place like this?” Ralph Hohmann wondered before hopping off the bus with his family to hike the Gorham Mountain Loop trail. He and his wife had just returned from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, where he said there were fewer organized activities and rangers were apprehensive about yet more cuts.
Williamson Daily News: Future unclear as New River Gorge National Park faces funding cuts, unfilled positions
By Richard Steelhammer | August 29, 2025
A record 1.8 million people spent time in New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in 2024, marking a nearly 50% increase in visitation in the four years since the Gorge became America’s 63rd and newest national park, the National Park Service announced in March.
That news came about one month after the newly created Department of Government Efficiency began sending termination notices to thousands of newly hired probationary National Park Service employees and offering deferred retirement buyouts to their senior colleagues.
Then, a hiring freeze that extends at least into October was put in effect, followed by the release of a Trump administration budget request for the 2026 fiscal year calling for a 31 percent cut in NPS funding for park operations across the nation.
Mother Jones: Will the National Parks Survive Trump?
By Jamilah King | August 30, 2025
From layoffs to billion-dollar budget cuts and ideological battles over history itself, the National Park Service is facing one of the most turbulent moments in its 109-year history.
On this week’s Reveal, reporter Heath Druzin hikes deep into Yellowstone National Park’s backcountry with biologist Doug Smith, who helped reintroduce wolves to the park 30 years ago. The program transformed the ecosystem, but is now at risk in future rounds of budget cuts.
Also particularly endangered in this moment: biologists and other scientists whose conservation work happens behind the scenes. Reveal’s Nadia Hamdan talks to Andria Townsend, a carnivore biologist at Yosemite National Park who tracks endangered fishers and Sierra Nevada red foxes.
Politico: Even at Yosemite, 'the shadow of Donald Trump is over everything'
By Heather Richards | August 31, 2025
The Trump administration has not disclosed its tally for national park staffing levels after its effort to slash the government workforce hit arguably the nation’s most popular federal agency earlier this year. But the park is down at least 40 staffers compared with last summer, according to figures shared with POLITICO’s E&E News by a person familiar with Yosemite’s current staffing. This summer, there are roughly 400 permanent staff and about 330 seasonal employees working in the park, that person said.
Six Yosemite employees who spoke with E&E News said those missing rangers are felt by staffers, as parks have long dealt with a significant number of vacant positions and tourist numbers that climb every year.
This summer, many rangers who lead backcountry hikes, swear in junior rangers and operate the entrance booths are working long hours and trying to keep a cheerful demeanor for visitors, despite feeling burdened by the Trump administration’s cutbacks, they said.
Fire Island and Great South Bay News: National Park Service Cuts Push Fire Island National Seashore Into Uncharted Waters
By Skylar Epstein | August 31, 2025
Over the last eight months, as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to slash the federal bureaucracy, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has targeted the National Park Service (NPS) with unprecedented funding disruptions and staffing reductions. These abrupt cuts have sown chaos across the National Park System, and Fire Island National Seashore (FINS) has not emerged unscathed. FINS staff are stretched thin and existentially stressed; the Fire Island Lighthouse renovation has been delayed by years, and the seashore has been pushed into unprecedented territory.
According to reporting from various national media outlets, including HuffPost and PBS News Hour, NPS employees nationwide have been pushed to their limits through indiscriminate mass firings (for instance, of probationary workers), deferred resignation deals, and early retirements—reducing overall staff and threatening the institutional knowledge needed to run and protect America’s national parks.
The Source: Death by a Thousand Cuts
By Sarah Isak-Goode | September 3, 2025
“I feel like the Forest Service has been suffering from death by 1,000 cuts,” said Kit Dickey, a longtime volunteer and trail coordinator for Sawyers with Attitude to Spare in Central Oregon. SWATS volunteers maintain approximately 250 miles of trail annually in the National Forest. Dickey has watched the Deschutes National Forest slowly lose the staff and resources that once kept its trails maintained and campgrounds operational. Bathrooms are going uncleaned, and trails are deteriorating without repair, she explained. Dickey is worried that SWATS, and other similar organizations, won’t be able to pick up the slack much longer. The demanding nature of long weekend shifts, combined with an increasingly older volunteer workforce and the need for extensive training, create significant hurdles for these organizations. With budgets shrinking, volunteer organizations will find it even harder to address these mounting difficulties.
Fodor’s Travel: The 10 Most At-Risk National Parks in the United States
By Alex Schnee | September 3, 2025
2025 has been an utter nightmare for the National Park Service. Along with extensive budget cuts and the mass layoffs of park employees, our “best idea” is currently under attack from the Trump administration. While fighting for our public lands is nothing new, it has been a battle since they were created, the challenges Americans face protecting our favorite places have never loomed so large.
