National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions

Massive layoffs at the National Park Service will likely have rippling negative effects on communities surrounding national parks and monuments, writes Kurt Repanshek in National Parks Traveler, noting that parks generate billions of dollars in revenue for nearby towns each year.

“Interior Department figures from last summer noted that the National Park System generated $55.6 billion for the national economy in 2023, an increase of $5.2 billion from the year before. The 2023 National Park Visitor Spending Effects survey found that 325.5 million visitors spent $26.4 billion in communities near national parks.” Repanshek adds that this supported 415,400 jobs nationwide, thousands of which are now being cut by the administration.

Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, says the move is “hard to understand.” According to Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, “Not having those important positions filled would be very harmful to the park itself, and then also problematic with visitor safety and other experience issues.” Many of the workers who were laid off this week performed critical jobs such as wastewater management and trail maintenance. Brengel also expressed concern about the potential privatization of park services, which could lead to poor management and profit-driven policies.