Virginia lawmakers urge Trump administration to reverse National Parks staffing cuts

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) -- Several Virginia lawmakers recently called on the Trump administration to reverse staffing cuts at the National Park Service (NPS), citing a potential loss of up to $1.5 billion in revenue annually to local economies throughout the Commonwealth.

On Friday, Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, as well as Representatives Bobby Scott, Gerry Connolly, Don Beyer, Jennifer McClellan, Suhas Subramanyam and Eugene Vindman wrote to U.S. Department of the Interior Doug Burgum to reverse the cuts, which have impacted all of Virginia's 22 national park units. Virginia parks serve an average of 22 million visitors per year, ultimately bringing $1.5 billion in revenue across Virginia.

"We write today to express our deep concern over alarming directives issued to eliminate roughly one thousand full-time employees, rescind hundreds of offers for full-time positions, and delay thousands of offers for seasonal positions at the National Park Service (NPS)," the lawmakers wrote. "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."

In the letter, lawmakers state that the staffing cuts have the potential to put park visitors' safety at risk. Rolls impacted by the directive include frontline park rangers, maintenance staff and support staff.

"It has been reported that the only exemptions offered were for positions that respond to public safety incidents, including law enforcement rangers, public safety dispatchers, and wildland firefighters," lawmakers wrote. "However, public safety response is just part of the work that goes into protecting the public. Countless other positions from rangers to natural resource specialists to wastewater specialists to maintenance mechanics that are not covered under the exemptions have wide-ranging responsibilities for preventing public safety incidents in the first place. Eliminating these positions put our parks at greater risk of damage and make them less safe for visitors. We are particularly concerned about reports that NPS rescinded offers for positions directly responsible for fire safety at Shenandoah National Park - coinciding with the start of wildfire season."

The letter goes on to state that the lack of guidance for seasonal hiring could impact the start of the peak visitation season, as the late winter and early spring months are imperative to prepare for the anticipated millions of visitors each summer.

In addition, lawmakers stated the directive undermines recent progress made by Congress to restore and repair national parks throughout the United States.

“For over one hundred years, NPS has been charged with safeguarding millions of acres of America’s irreplaceable natural, historic, and cultural resources," lawmakers wrote. "However, persistent underfunding of NPS resulted in the Service’s inability to properly staff park units and the growth of a multi-billion-dollar backlog of deferred maintenance projects. In recognition of the worsening situation at our national parks, bipartisan majorities in Congress passed and President Trump signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020 (GAOA), one of the largest ever investments in conservation and public lands in our nation’s history. The GAOA gave NPS the resources it needed to dedicate billions of dollars for addressing deferred maintenance across the country, including over $470 million for projects in Virginia. As a result of these staffing directives, units will be forced to reallocate remaining staff to support regular operations at the expense of staff hours dedicated to reducing the deferred maintenance backlog.” 

Lawmakers concluded the letter by saying the staffing cuts so soon to the start of the peak season threatens the tourism economy in Virginia, possibly harming hundreds of small businesses and thousands of jobs throughout the Commonwealth.

The full letter can be read here.