While Interior Secretary Burgum has ordered national parks to be open and properly staffed, the National Parks Conservation Association said the order could lead to political micromanaging of the parks/Rebecca Latson file

Editor's note: This includes reaction from the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum late Thursday afternoon ordered that the National Park Service ensure that the National Park System "is properly staffed to support the operating hours and needs of each park unit."

The two-page secretarial order — coming in the wake of the department's initial hold on seasonal hiring, attempt to fire 1,000 probationary workers, encouragement for others to retire, and hiring freeze — directed the Park Service director to see that parks are kept open and staffed in line with the hours posted on their park's webpages.

But it was quickly condemned by the National Parks Conservation Association, which said it would lead to the parks being "micromanaged by political appointees."

In the order, Burgum directed that, "[T]o ensure visitor access and satisfaction, any closures or reductions to operating hours, seasons, or any visitor services (including trails and campgrounds), in whole or in part, must be reviewed by the NPS Director and the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks prior to any reduction action by the individual park units."

Burgum also requested that a report be submitted to his assistant secretary for policy, management and budget and the assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks by April 13 on the "operating hours, seasons, closures or reductions of visitor services (including trails and campgrounds), and staffing of each park unit." The order, which was not immediately distributed directly to the media, also asked for a report by April 15 "on the operational status of each park unit."

While the administration's firing of roughly 1,000 Park Service probationary workers on Valentine's Day was blocked by a federal judge, who held that the terminations were illegal because the Office of Personnel Management had no authority to order it, Interior officials indicated they woud appeal. At the same time, there are concerns that a reduction-in-force plan crafted by Interior but not yet made public could target many of those for dismissal.

The order comes in the wake of news that some campgrounds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park might not open this year, that there could be a lack of custodial staff at Yosemite National Park, and that staffing shortages might affect the Ranger III ferry that travels between Houghton, Michigan, and Isle Royale National Park. Additionally:

• Arches National Park in Utah is short of seasonal staff, and until further notice no ranger-led tours nor self-guided permits for the Fiery Furnace will be conducted or issued. 
• Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado is closed Mondays and Tuesdays due to a lack of staff.
• At Great Basin National Park in Nevada, tours of Lehman Caves are being offered as staffing permits, on a walk-up basis. 
• The John Muir National Historic Site in California is closed on Sundays and Mondays. The site is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• At Johnstown Flood National Memorial in Pennsylvania, the visitor center is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays and open Fridays through Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• At Pecos National Historical Park in New Mexico, you're advised to contact the visitor center at 505-757-7241 to confirm tour and ranger-led program availability.
• Pinnacles National Park in California has cancelled all of its summer ranger programs.
• The Denali Education Center has had to cancel its Denali Discovery Camp and Denali Backcountry Adventures this summer due to NPS staffing shortages.

At NPCA, Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs Kristen Brengel told the Traveler that the order "requires park superintendents and managers to be micromanaged by political appointees before deciding if they keep visitor centers, campgrounds, trails and other visitor services open to the public."

"There are 433 national park sites throughout the country, each has either a superintendent or manager that oversees the day-to-day operations," said Brengel. "Decisions on closures or changes in hours are not made lightly — they are made based on staffing, weather, construction projects, natural disasters, and many other factors specific to each park unit. Making NPS superintendents and managers jump through hoops to get permission to make these decisions could impact visitor safety and resource protection. This order will likely violate the [National Park Service] Organic Act if a superintendent must wait to protect resources and visitors until a political appointee has the time to review the request. This is a dangerous proposition for our national parks.

"We call on the Interior Secretary to retract this order immediately for the safety and protection of visitors and resources."

There have been other concerns voiced that the Trump administration might take steps to place loyalists in key managerial positions across the federal government.

A lawsuit currently is pending against Trump's move to eliminate civil service protections for a wide number of federal employees, including Park Service managers. Under the president's plan, thousands of federal employees with civil service protections would be converted to at-will employees, meaning they could be fired without cause. The concern is that if Park Service managers lost their civil service protection, the president could easily fire them and place loyalists in their positions to more easily carry out his orders regardless of possible impacts to park resources.

Trump moved during his first term to reduce many civil service protections and reclassify jobs as "policy" positions that would serve at the president's pleasure. Part of the executive order he signed to create a new category of the federal workforce stated that agencies needed “the flexibility to expeditiously remove poorly performing employees from these positions without facing extensive delays or litigation.”

President Biden revoked the order before it took effect, but Trump has revived it.

At the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, Executive Director Emily Thompson called the order both "inappropriate and impractical."

"Unfortunately, there are times when changes to park operating hours, emergency closures, or unexpected cancellation of programs must occur. These decisions, made by superintendents and other park managers, often need to be made quickly while taking into account a variety of factors regarding the practical and safe management of our parks," she said Friday. "Forcing park leaders to seek permission from Washington before adjusting a schedule is dangerous. It does not acknowledge the practical realities of safely managing our parks.

"In addition, this Order is just not sustainable given the current hiring freeze, delayed seasonal start dates, and federal job cuts. Parks are already struggling with inadequate budgets and a lack of critical staff - and there are more cuts on the horizon. This Order is just an effort to disguise the on-the-ground impacts of this Administration's decision to slash the federal workforce. It should be retracted immediately."