More Than 10 Percent Of National Park Service Workforce Has Left

By

Kurt Repanshek

Published Date

April 11, 2025

An estimated 12.5 percent of the National Park Service workforce has left under Trump administration early-out offers/Rebecca Latson file

An estimated 2,400-2,500 National Park Service employees, roughly 12.5 percent of the agency's entire workforce, have taken Trump administration offers to resign or retire, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

Among those who reportedly took either the "fork in the road" offer, which allowed them to resign now but remain on the payroll through the end of the fiscal year, or take an early retirement buyout, were the heads of the Park Service's cultural and natural resources divisions.

“This is what we were most worried about," Kristen Brengel, NPCA's senior vice president for government affairs, said Friday afternoon during a phone call. "This is our worst fear coming true, that you’re going to lose very knowledgeable people who know how to protect natural and cultural resources.”

President Donald Trump since taking office in January has worked with businessman Elon Musk to downsize the federal goverment. At first the Park Service was forced to rescind offers for seasonal positions; on Valentine's Day some 1,000 NPS employees who were on probationary status were fired; while at the same time the administration encouraged federal employees to take the "fork in the road" offer. A Voluntary Early Retirement offer was added to the mix last week.

While the seasonal offers were later extended, and a judge ordered the probationary employees to be reinstated, a sizeable percentage of the Park Service workforce has left the agency since President Trump took office, and a reduction-in-force plan is thought to be looming.

According to NPCA's tracking, an estimated 1,100 employees took the latest "fork in the road" offer, which expired at midnight Wednesday; some 700 took that offer in February; and an estimated 700 took an early retirement package.

Division heads thought to have left the agency through these processes were in charge of the Air Resources Division, Water Resources Division, Climate Change Response, Natural Sounds and Night Skies, Inventory and Monitoring, Environmental Quality, Geological Resources, and National Natural Landmarks, though the National Parks Traveler hasn't been able to confirm those departures.

National Park Service officials in Washington could not be immediately reached Friday afternoon, though the agency typically doesn't discuss personnel matters.

Meanwhile, the Traveler has learned that Park Service information technology (IT) staff is being moved this weekend into the Interior Department, part of a consolidation Interior Secretary Doug Burgum mentioned earlier this week.

Park Service officials in Washington did not immediately respond when asked about that and what impacts, if any, the transition would create.

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