Public safety positions may be exempt from hiring freeze
LURAY, Va. — Two Virginia Senators recently wrote to newly-confirmed U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to immediately take action to resolve looming staffing shortages at the National Park Service (NPS).
According to a February 10, 2025 media release, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) wrote to Burgum following President Trump’s hiring freeze, cancellation of thousands of job offers for seasonal NPS employees, and buyout offers.
The full text of the letter can be found here and below:
Dear Secretary Burgum:
We urge you to immediately reissue seasonal employment offers for the National Park Service, officially rescind damaging and short-sighted deferred resignation and early retirement offers, and to instead work to safeguard, grow, and shape the National Park Service workforce to meet the needs of our national parks and their visitors.
We are alarmed that the National Park Service revoked employment offers for seasonal staff for the upcoming summer season.
Incoming seasonal staff – whose work is critical to managing the influx of visitors during the summer “peak season” – had offers in their hands that were yanked away just days after the inauguration.
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National Park Service rangers carry out a wide array of functions critical to protecting natural resources, keeping visitors safe, providing for recreation, and creating an inspiring and educational experience for visitors.
National Park units experience a summer surge in visitation that peaks in July, and the Service hires more than 6,000 seasonal employees to manage that extra work. Without seasonal staff during this peak season, visitor centers may close, bathrooms will be filthy, campgrounds may close, guided tours will be cut back or altogether cancelled, emergency response times will drop, and visitor services like safety advice, trail recommendations, and interpretation will be unavailable.
We are also alarmed that the administration’s offer of deferred resignation and voluntary early retirement, made without clear legal authority, as well as open threats about future terminations will lead to a damaging loss of full-time staff at the National Park Service, which is already operating well below prior staffing levels despite significant increases in visitation.
As a result of onerous budget caps during the 2010s, the National Park Service lost 15% of its staff while park visitation also increased by 15%.
If a significant number of National Park Service employees take one of the offers – or further terminations are made – park staffing will be in chaos. Not only does this threaten the full suite of visitor services, but could close entire parks altogether.
Gutting staffing at national park units will devastate local “gateway” communities where parks generate significant economic activity – from hotels to restaurants to stores to outfitters. In 2023, an estimated 325 million park visitors spent an estimated $26.4 billion in local gateway regions, supporting an estimated 415,000 jobs and $55.6 billion in total economic output in the national economy.
Americans showing up to national parks this summer and for years to come don’t deserve to have their vacations ruined by a completely preventable – and completely irresponsible – staffing shortage. And local economies don’t deserve to have their livelihoods destroyed for political gain.
We urge your cooperation in protecting national parks for the enjoyment of everyone by ensuring National Park Service staffing meets the needs of the 433 national park units in all 50 states.
In addition to Warner and Kaine, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
On February 11, Warner and Kaine reacted to a Washington Post (WP) report that the NPS plans to exempt certain positions from the hiring freeze.
A WP source advised that the exemption will apply to seasonal law enforcement positions, including law enforcement rangers and public safety dispatchers. The source spoke to a WP reporter on the condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made public.
In response, a joint media statement from Warner and Kaine read:
President Trump’s hiring freeze on the law enforcement officers needed to keep Virginia’s National Parks safe jeopardized our parks’ ability to host visitors—and in turn posed a serious threat to the local economies that rely on them. That’s why we quickly wrote to the Administration urging them to exempt these positions and other seasonal staff from the freeze.
We’re relieved that the Administration is heeding our call, and will continue to push for additional exemptions for National Park Service employees ahead of the summer peak season.
An August 2024 National Park Service (NPS) report showed that 1.5 million visitors to Shenandoah National Park (SNP) spent $114 million in communities near the park last year. In fact, tourism dollars had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $156 million. But it takes a lot of work (and a lot of staff) to keep things running smoothly.
The park employs permanent and seasonal employees in divisions such as botany, wildlife management, trail maintenance, education, sanitation, fees, and more. Announcements for seasonal positions are posted months in advance to allow for application review, background checks and onboarding procedures. Usually, by early February, job offers are already being extended for the upcoming season. This year, however, the employment status of many remains in limbo.
The park’s concessionaire, Delaware North, is not government-managed, and is currently running ads and hiring for the upcoming season. These positions, however, are only for restaurants and lodging within the park, and not the park itself.
Consisting of nearly 197,000 acres, including 80,000 acres of congressionally designated wilderness, Shenandoah National Park encompasses portions of eight counties.
Each year, millions visit the area, which includes the 105-mile Skyline Drive and 75 designated scenic overlooks. The park also includes established campgrounds and 101 miles of the famed Appalachian Trail, on which visitors hike and often overnight camp.
Shenandoah National Park Headquarters is located in Luray, Virginia.
