As the Department of the Interior pushes employees into “visitor-facing” roles and proposes to slash $736 million from the National Park Service budget, critics warn that the scientists and stewards who keep our parks alive are once again being purged.
A National Park Service employee leads a pack of mules loaded with tools and supplies in the Grand Canyon (Photo: dit: John Moore / Staff)
Published April 3, 2026 02:44PM
Employees with the National Park Service (NPS) are bracing for another staffing change after the Department of the Interior (DOI) circulated a memorandum Thursday night. In the memo, the DOI announced an initiative to realign the NPS workforce, placing employees in “visitor-facing roles.” As part of the move, DOI said it is again offering a deferred resignation program and opportunities for voluntary early retirement.
The agency did not specify how many positions would be affected, nor did it clarify when these changes would occur. Outside contacted the DOI, which manages NPS, for clarification, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
The decision comes after the White House released its 2027 budget proposal, which the advocacy group National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) says would gut the NPS workforce and impact more than 430 national park sites nationwide. The proposal includes a $736 million reduction to the NPS’s $3.2 billion annual budget, or about 20 percent. This, NPCA says, could eliminate thousands more park staff after a year of severe losses.
“A cut this massive would be catastrophic. This proposal would only accelerate the damage, putting our national parks at even greater risk and further cut the park staffing that is needed to care for our national treasures.” John Garder, NPCA budget director, said in a statement.
In his memo, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said that the agency is “taking an important step forward in strengthening service to the American people.” The DOI currently employs about 70,000 people in 2,400 locations across the United States. NPS accounts for 20,000 of those roles.
“Effective stewardship requires disciplined management of the resources entrusted to us,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “By modernizing our operations, we’re strengthening our ability to carry out Interior’s mission and deliver world-class service for the American people.”
Opponents of the measure say that the initiative will further hurt an already struggling federal workforce. NPS parks already have people working in visitor-facing roles, such as interpretive rangers. There are also many behind-the-scenes roles, such as biologists, sanitation workers, mechanics, and trail crews, that support NPS infrastructure.
“This is the Trump administration’s familiar formula: dress up layoffs as ‘reform’ and force the public to accept less. The people should believe their eyes—this is not an improvement,” Gerry James, deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Outdoors For All campaign, said in a statement sent to Outside. “If Interior’s initiative were really about serving the public better, we would see proposals for stronger staffing, deeper investment, and more support for the people who protect our public lands and welcome people into them.”
Administrators have implemented other changes across federal agencies as well. On March 31, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announced plans to move its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City. The move was also in support of “realigning its organizational structure to strengthen local leadership, streamline operations, and improve mission delivery,” the USFS wrote in a statement.
It’s part of an enduring list of sweeping changes the Trump administration has made across federal agencies. In 2025, the NPS delivered layoff notices to approximately 1,000 workers, about five percent of its total workforce. In all, an estimated 5,000 employees working for public lands across federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, lost their jobs.
Budget Proposals That Could Impact NPS
NPCA reports that the 2027 budget proposes the following changes:
- Reduces the annual National Park Service Construction budget to less than $50 million, leaving it with 72 percent less funding to address repairs compared to 2025.
- Cuts $4.6 billion—over half—of the Environmental Protection Agency’s funding, the agency that enforces laws like the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.
- Downsizes the National Park Service’s annual construction budget to under $50 million—72 percent less than 2025 levels for repairs.
- Slashes the Historic Preservation Fund by 95 percent, gutting support for communities and tribes to protect irreplaceable historic and cultural resources nationwide.
