National parks hit a world record in 2024 with 331,863,358 visits. And as of recently, more than 1,000 national park workers have been laid off by the Trump administration. 

Terminations began on February 14 to national park workers across America in favor of “shrinking” the federal workforce. There have already been numerous national parks that are suffering the consequences of the mass terminations. Yosemite has paused reservations for some of their most popular camping grounds due to their cuts in staff and Saguaro has closed one of their visiting centers.  

National parks are already being affected by the layoffs of their employees, and we can expect to see some similar events paralleled from Trump’s last term. 

In Donald Trump’s first term during 2019, there was a federal government shut down that lasted 35 days. During those 35 days, there was limited supervision and temporary layoffs at multiple national parks, Joshua Tree being one of them. Across the 35 days there were reports of vandalism, trees being harmed by the public, and a overall mistreatment to the park. Joshua Tree remained operating during the shutdown with minimal staff, like many national parks now. 

As we have shown in present time throughout the last couple months, we are not learning from history. Mistakes made by our government in the past are not being considered, and we continuously ignore the consequences. National parks are sentimental to many, as some parks carry monuments in honor of important figures, sentiments of family vacations, or the idea of sharing these special locations with our future generations to come. But if we continue to allow these cuts and layoffs to happen, there will be no monuments to uphold in the future. 

With no park rangers or staff present in the national parks to maintain peace, we are at risk of suffering from the natural disaster of wildfires. We must learn from the devastating wildfire in Los Angeles that we cannot leave our wilderness unattended. With speculation as to what started the LA fires, aside from the drought and high winds, there was suspicion that people within the Los Angeles area were contributing to the fires. While the investigation is still ongoing, the suspicion alone should move America to protect the gemstones of our world, both for our safety and preservation. 

People are outraged with our given situation and have taken it upon themselves to assemble and protest the changes that are being made. At 145 sites, people gathered to revolt. Protests gathered across the country from Yosemite to Iowa, holding signs that denounced Trump’s administration, Elon Musk, and the entire federal government. 

Along with the layoffs and funds being revoked, they are responding to the potential threats to national parks and their resources. The U.S. Department of Interior issued a statement on February 3, stating that the executive order “Unleashing American Energy” will be used to revoke the protections of natural resources, which applies to national parks. They claim that their intention with this executive order is to utilize our natural resources to benefit the country, without mentioning the animals, wildlife, and workers who will all be at risk of losing something. 

With information coming out into the media exceedingly, we must remember of the history we have lived through and read about. We must learn from our mistakes, we must care, for the sake of our futures and our wildlife.