Association Of National Park Rangers Voices Concerns Over Impacts To National Park Service

By

Kurt Repanshek

Published Date

March 3, 2025

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has been urged to not "decimate" the National Park System/DOI

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has been urged to reinstate positions the National Park Service lost through the Valentine's Day mass termination of federal employees, to fill the positions lost through those who opted to take the Trump administration's deferred resignation program, and to not "decimate the world’s most prestigious National Park System."

The letter, from the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR), told Burgum that "while a thoughtful, strategic, surgical approach to improving government efficiency is appropriate, the rapid, one-size-fits-all approach that’s been taken is anything but. It risks destroying the national parks Americans love and is already having a devastating impact on park workers and community economies."

Signed by Rick L. Mossman, ANPR president, the letter was sent Thursday to Burgum in Washington and asked for a meeting with the Interior secretary to discuss the future of the Park Service under the Trump administration.

"ANPR is following the administration’s actions related to federal government downsizing, workforce reductions, and associated impacts on people and programs. We are extremely concerned about what has happened and what is happening, especially as it relates to our National Park System, the NPS, and its highly valued employees," he wrote. "As you may know, there are now many heartbreaking stories about the impacts of recent actions on good people, many with a high level of performance.

"We acknowledge that with the election of now President Trump, a majority of those who voted ostensibly wanted some level of change. But did they vote to decimate the world’s most prestigious National Park System?" asked Mossman. "Did they vote to weaken the most popular federal agency in the country? Did they vote to lengthen the lines to get into their parks, see facilities scaled back or closed, and to see crime increase in their national parks?"

In seeking a meeting with the Interior secretary, Mossman said his organization stood ready to help Interior conduct a top-to-bottom review of the Park Service.

"We suggest that you assemble a team that includes park professionals, retired professionals, park partners, and people from organizations like ANPR to advise the administration’s leadership," the letter read. "We offer to assist with input to designing and implementing such a review. We know that the NPS has challenges and that there are areas for improvement, but we also submit that the NPS is still the best agency in the world at what it does — protecting and preserving great resources and stories and providing outstanding opportunities for people to have meaningful experiences.

"Make positive changes as necessary, but please do not tear it down."

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