On Feb. 14, the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced a slew of budget cuts, including layoffs of more than 1,000 national parks workers, representing over 5 percent of the total workforce, according to the National Park Service.

The news shocked park workers nationwide as well as the countless Americans who never expected to see their government attempt to shutter the nation’s most celebrated public lands.

Diablo Valley College geology professor Ji-Yeon Shin said she opposed the layoffs.

“As a person who values the preservation of national parks, I believe these job cuts are not necessary nor justifiable,” Shin said. “I care so deeply because I have former students who are now park rangers.”

Although not everyone was against the cuts. Ed Santos, a 66-year-old lifelong DVC student, said, “I am in favor of funding cuts because I hate to see wasteful spending of my own tax dollars.” 

Days after the announcement last month, and in response to the backlash, President Donald Trump announced national parks would be authorized to hire 5,000 to 7,700 temporary workers during this calendar year. 

According to the National Parks Conservation Association, that number could be slightly higher than the 6,000 seasonal worker positions assigned by the Biden administration. 

However, seasonal workers can not fill full-time upper-level management positions left vacant due to staffing cuts. Overall, the National Parks workforce has “dropped by about 15% between 2011 and 2022,” according to National Public Radio.

Many of the 1,000  fired park workers were in the midst of a probationary period, meaning their status as full-time National Park workers was on hold. 

In addition, more than 700 workers accepted a severance package buyout through the Interior Department, and “would be given money in a lump sum totaling no more than their total severance package or $ 25,000—whichever is less,” according to the department.

Judge William Alsup, a senior district judge in Northern California, described the layoffs as “as a violation of federal law that used loopholes to sidestep workers’ legal protections”.

All this comes after national parks across America experienced record attendance numbers, with over 330 million people visiting America’s protected lands last year alone. 

On the state level, phone lines connecting to parks throughout California have been jammed or shut down altogether due to a lack of staffing and high call volume in recent weeks. Calls placed to parks, including Redwoods, Yosemite, Lassen Volcanic, and Pinnacles, all went unanswered. 

Virtually all national parks throughout California are being affected by the job layoffs issued by the Trump administration.

The cuts to staffing is part of President Trump’s agenda to consolidate and reduce spending in the federal government. Santos said he supports the president’s actions. “This is why I favor the DOGE initiative uncovering government spending,” he said.

As of this month, President Trump has yet to nominate a new director of the National Parks. In the meantime, Jessica Bowron is serving as acting director.

Meanwhile, the American public waits to see what will result across the country’s nationally guarded lands. For Shin, a geologist, the signs are especially worrisome.

“Protecting national parks is so important because materials and resources on these lands cannot be collected or sampled,” she said.