{"id":8014,"date":"2026-08-01T10:07:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T10:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8014"},"modified":"2026-08-01T10:07:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T10:07:04","slug":"fat-squirrels-rowdy-bears-and-burned-out-rangers-how-trump-policies-are-scrambling-americas-national-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=8014","title":{"rendered":"Fat squirrels, rowdy bears and burned-out rangers: How Trump policies are scrambling America\u2019s national parks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n As a backcountry ranger at a national park, Sam built a career doing work that many visitors never see: patrolling trails, checking campsites and educating hikers on how to keep themselves and the park safe. Sam had never been asked to collect entry fees \u2014 until this year.\n <\/p>

Read more Justice Dept. admits Reflecting Pool renovation was flawed, drops case against former Olympian<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Now, Sam works overtime each week at the park\u2019s entrance station, miles away from the backcountry. Colleagues who would otherwise be busy doing ecological work in the parks now scramble just to keep up with cleaning bathrooms and picking up trash, Sam said.\n <\/p>\n

\n More than a year after the Trump administration laid off around 1,000 NPS employees, national parks are straining under a staff shortage amid sweeping changes from the White House. Tourists are flocking to parks this summer in near record numbers, due in part to the removal of the timed-entry reservation system at some parks. Fishing access has been expanded, hunting restrictions lifted\\ and limits on off-road vehicles rolled back.\n <\/p>\n

\n Making matters worse, a larger portion of the entry fees Sam and others collect is being diverted away from national parks, and back to Washington, DC.\n <\/p>\n

\n Rangers, experts and local business owners who depend on the parks told CNN that while the White House has tried to prioritize the visitor experience by making parks more accessible, the changes \u2013 rolled out suddenly and without much notice \u2013 coupled with staff shortages have sent a delicate ecosystem into disarray.\n <\/p>\n

\n The impact shows up in numerous ways \u2013 from longer lines to economic downturn for nearby businesses to plumper squirrels and problematic bears.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNational parks are about much more than the visiting experience. These are not theme parks,\u201d said John Garder, a senior director at the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit charity focusing on the protection of National Parks.\n <\/p>\n

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\nWaterfalls are seen running into Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park near West Glacier, Montana, on July 8, 2025.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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\n More money for DC as parks are stretched thin\n<\/h2>\n

\n A CNN analysis found that so far this fiscal year, the administration has redirected at least 30.5% of revenue from national park fees toward projects in Washington, DC, including $8 million out of the $14 million budget for President Donald Trump\u2019s revamped Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. However, under federal law, only 20% of fees collected at national parks are supposed to go toward free parks, which include DC landmarks.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s just completely upsetting,\u201d Sam said. \u201cInfuriating.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Sam is a pseudonym for a national park ranger who, like other NPS employees who spoke to CNN, did so on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals.\n <\/p>\n

\n Garder, of the National Parks Conservation Association, also described the redirection of funds as \u201cdeeply concerning.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhat adds insult to injury is that there is no transparency as to what projects exactly \u2026 [it] is going towards and the projects that will not be happening or are not happening throughout the country as a result of the diversion of those funds,\u201d said Garder. \u201cWe\u2019re concerned as well about the potential for some of those funds to be used for some of these large construction projects or vanity projects, which again haven\u2019t gone through congressional review, or are not being adhering to the National Historical Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act and other laws.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\n\u201cNational parks are about much more than the visiting experience. These are not theme parks,\u201d said John Garder, a senior director at the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit charity focusing on the protection of National Parks.\u202f\u202f <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Michele Abercrombie\/CNN<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n The Interior Department offered a defense in a statement to CNN, saying, \u201cThe Trump administration is looking at different funding mechanisms for deferred maintenance which include endowment funds and revenue brought in from the sale of park passes. The National Park Service has not only been focused on beautifying the district for the 250th celebrations in our nation\u2019s capital but has also been working on many deferred maintenance projects throughout the country.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The Interior Department and NPS did not respond to a separate request for comment on other concerns, such as the strain on staff, effects of larger crowds and impact on local businesses.\n <\/p>\n

\n This all comes as the National Parks were already facing a yearslong maintenance backlog worth more than $24 billion. In several parks, roads have been closed for as long as five years with no progress. Money is so tight that sometimes, just stocking the bathrooms can be a hassle.\n <\/p>\n

\n One NPS employee CNN is identifying as Jane primarily collects entrance fees and issues passes at a national park in the southwest. She said buying even a roll of toilet paper for the restroom in her park requires layers of approval because there\u2019s a spending freeze.\n <\/p>\n

\n The park nearly ran out earlier this year, which meant the restroom would have to close and the closest available one for visitors would be two hours away. Jane also said that some rangers at her park have had to take on custodial work because staffing levels are so low.\n <\/p>\n

\n A third NPS employee who CNN is identifying as Alex said that employee housing facilities at the park where he works in the Pacific Northwest especially need refurbishing, forcing many permanent staff to commute more than an hour for work.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cBurnout amongst those employees is higher and turnover is huge, and we lose a lot of people because they don\u2019t like commuting that far,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to keep people.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u2018The squirrels are getting fat.\u2019\n<\/h2>\n

\n Mikah Meyer, a National Parks expert and influencer who visited all the National Parks in a three-year trip spanning from 2016 to 2019, said he has heard from friends who are park rangers that some who typically work as researchers are now doing janitorial work.\n <\/p>\n

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National Park expert and influencer speaks with CNN\n <\/div>\n
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\n \u201cThey have gone from working in their specialization that they are skilled for and trained for to literally cleaning your sh*t,\u201d said Meyer. \u201cI\u2019ve got friends that work all over the park system in tons of different states and territories, and I\u2019m hearing the same thing from all of them.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Alex also said that staff shortages have led to an increase in people feeding animals at the park as well as leaving behind food that the wildlife pick up.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cBears have been really bad this summer,\u201d said Alex. \u201cThey have been getting into a lot of food this summer, and bears that become problematic have to be put down. I\u2019m worried that we\u2019re going to have to lose some of our bears.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Elisabeth Barton, co-founder of Echo Adventure Cooperative, a tour-guide service near Yosemite, says fewer interpretive rangers \u2013 the ones who educate visitors about how to behave \u2013 has led to less enforcement, and consequentially, more people feeding the wildlife or leaving trash behind.\n <\/p>

Read more Trump, under pressure on Iran, takes his Cabinet to the woods<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe squirrels are getting fat,\u201dsaid Barton, who was picking up trash around a Yosemite clearing with picnic tables as she spoke to CNN. \u201cGod, a squirrel with a baguette just ran by.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\nA squirrel roams in the summer in Yosemite National Park.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
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\n \u2018The weekends are untenable\u2019\n<\/h2>\n

\n One concern among rangers is that the removal of a timed-entry system could complicate evacuations during wildfire season. Alex said that on weekends, when the park he works at in the Pacific Northwest is more crowded, guests park on the side of the road.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThose people are going to have a hard time getting back to their cars in a situation like that,\u201d Alex said, referencing a potential wildfire.\n <\/p>\n

\n Four major parks \u2013 Yosemite in California, Glacier in Montana, Arches in Utah and Mount Rainier in Washington \u2013 no longer have timed-entry systems.\n <\/p>\n

\n At Echo Adventure Cooperative in Yosemite, Barton said she\u2019s struggling to balance staffing levels because business has been unpredictable without the reservation system.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe weekends are untenable,\u201d she said. \u201cThe valley is functionally inaccessible\u201d because it\u2019s so busy.\n <\/p>\n

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\nTourists climb up the mist trail, one of the more popular hikes in California’s Yosemite National Park, on June 13.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
William Hale Irwin\/Los Angeles Times\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\nPeople look for parking near Curry Village in Yosemite National Park on May 16.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Eric Thayer\/Los Angeles Times\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Yosemite has boasted a 12% rise in visitation this year. Barton cited the July Fourth holiday weekend as an example of crowding, with many social media users documenting crowding. Then, during the weekdays, the park is empty. Previously under the reservation system, she said, visitation was much more spread out.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt reduces the ability to have long-term employment,\u201d Barton said, adding that the sudden nature in which the changes were rolled out did not give guides or park rangers time to prepare for them.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Department of Interior also lifted hunting restrictions at several national parks. At Curecanti National Recreation Area in Colorado, a ban prohibiting weapons from being fired from, toward, or across a hiking trail was removed. In Texas\u2019s Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, hunters can now clean their game in public restrooms. And in Louisiana\u2019s Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, alligators can be hunted.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI really do appreciate the park\u2019s attempt to increase access,\u201d Barton said. \u201cI just don\u2019t know that they\u2019re actually meeting that goal, at least not from where we\u2019re sitting.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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Fat squirrels roam in Yosemite National Park\n <\/div>\n
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Fat squirrels roam in Yosemite National Park<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n Barton is one of several guides who has also seen new higher fees for international visitors have a negative impact on business. Under a policy that took effect this year, non-US residents must pay $250 for the annual national park pass \u2014 more than triple the standard $80 which US residents continue to pay. Foreign tourists who don\u2019t purchase the pass are required to pay a $100-per-person fee, in addition to the standard entrance fee, to enter 11 of the most-visited national parks.\n <\/p>\n

\n Appearing on Katie Miller\u2019s podcast, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the higher fees for international visitors, saying, \u201cWe\u2019re generating record revenue this year from international and foreign visitors. That is helping us have more money to pay for the deferred maintenance across the country.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But others say the higher fees have reduced the number of international visitors to parks. McKay Edwards, who owns Moab Springs Ranch outside of Arches National Park in Utah, told CNN that the percentage of his hotel\u2019s international guests has been cut in half since 2024.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking at being in survival mode from now until the end of this administration,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cThis administration has not been good for tourism.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\nA National Park Service sign outside Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, on May 17, 2025.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Stefani Reynolds\/Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n \u2018Devastating\u2019 past year strains rangers\n<\/h2>\n

\n Sam said that staff at their national park now live in fear that they\u2019ll lose their jobs. They\u2019re encouraged to take early retirement or buyout opportunities.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYou almost feel like if you didn\u2019t take this, what would happen to your job?\u201d Sam said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Sam said staffing levels are around 60% at their park, forcing employees in positions like human resources and maintenance to work at fee booths.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen it comes to being demoralized, the shuffling around of park rangers and consolidating them, that\u2019s really stripped a lot of rangers of their identity,\u201d Sam said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Sam said some NPS staff have been \u201cgetting snappy\u201d with park visitors more often as they\u2019re feeling overwhelmed. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to keep a calm, nice face when you\u2019re under those circumstances, and you still have a public that expects you to be completely at their service,\u201d Sam said.\n <\/p>\n

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\nA tourist stands in front of the valley overlook during sunrise in California’s Yosemite National Park, on June 12.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Los Angeles Times\/Los Angeles Times\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Sam has worked at national parks through several administrations, including the first Trump administration. While there were issues then, they acknowledged, the last 18 months have been worse.\n <\/p>\n

\n Tim Whitehouse, the executive director at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), an organization that works with and supports park rangers, scientists, land managers and other civil servants, said he\u2019s in touch with many NPS employees. He pointed out that rangers are already people who live in remote areas under difficult conditions for little pay because \u201cthey love the mission,\u201d so the past year has been \u201cdevastating for them.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThese things that are needed to keep any huge organizational footprint working are not being supported and funded,\u201d Whitehouse told CNN. \u201cThat can be maintenance workers, that could be people collecting fees, it can be trail maintenance \u2013 all of these things are being degraded and people are being asked to step in and try and fill these holes when they may not be able to, may not have the qualifications to do it, or may already have a full-time job elsewhere in the park service.\u201d\n <\/p>

Read more Scientists discover an eyeless cavefish in Alabama and name it after \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 monster<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a backcountry ranger at a national park, Sam built a career doing work that many visitors never see: patrolling trails, checking campsites and educating hikers on how to keep themselves and the park safe. 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