Last Friday, Feb. 14, the Washington Post broke news that the Trump administration planned to fire roughly 1,000 probationary employees at the National Park Service, while carving out space to rehire 5,000 seasonal workers — workers whose job offers had been rescinded in January as part of a general hiring freeze.

The firings are part of a broader effort on the part of the Trump administration. Within the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Park Service’s parent agency, some 2,300 probationary workers — including 400 with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, and 3,400 U.S. Forest Service probationary employees have been fired, according to reporting by Reuters.

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) issued a statement on Friday demanding that the Trump administration put a stop to job cuts that the association says will “wreak havoc” on national parks.

“Allowing parks to hire seasonal staff is essential, but staffing cuts of this magnitude will have devastating consequences for parks and communities,” Theresa Pierno, president and CEO for the NPCA. “We are concerned about smaller parks closing visitor center doors and larger parks losing key staff including wastewater treatment operators … With peak season just weeks away, the decision to slash 1,000 permanent, full-time jobs from national parks is reckless and could have serious public safety and health consequences.”American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President Everett Kelley released a statement on the occasion of the firings, characterizing the action as “a politically driven mass firing spree, targeting employees not because of performance, but because they were hired before Trump took office.”

“These firings are not about poor performance — there is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants,” Kelley said. “They are about power. They are about gutting the federal government, silencing workers, and forcing agencies into submission to a radical agenda that prioritizes cronyism over competence.”

The statement continued: “Employees were given no notice, no due process, and no opportunity to defend themselves in a blatant violation of the principles of fairness and merit that are supposed to govern federal employment.

“Agencies have spent years recruiting and developing the next generation of public servants. By firing them en masse, this administration is throwing away the very talent that agencies need to function effectively in the years ahead.”

Congressional letter

On Feb. 11, 15 U.S. senators sent an open letter to Doug Burgum, the recently appointed secretary of Interior, to express concerns about President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 federal hiring freeze as it affects the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service.

These senators, including Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., expressed “extreme concern” of the hiring freeze “ahead of what’s expected to be another devastating wildfire year.”

“The bottom line is this: pausing the hiring and onboarding of federal seasonal firefighters — while historic wildfires destroy communities and upend livelihoods across the West — is simply irresponsible and dangerous,” the letter read. “We will be woefully unprepared to fight the fires to come and instead will continue to see record levels of damage, ultimately costing communities and taxpayers even more at a time when the cost of living is already too high. We urge you to put the safety of families and communities across the country first and allow the federal seasonal firefighter hiring process to continue without delay. Every moment that we wait puts lives and livelihoods at greater risk.”

Conditions on the ground

Even before the mass firings, reports had surfaced of chaotic conditions impending as spring approaches parks throughout the U.S.

SFGATE’s Ashley Harrell, national parks bureau chief, declared “Yosemite National Park is in chaos” in an article published last Thursday. “Hamstrung by President Donald Trump’s hiring freeze, hundreds of rescinded job offers and the threat of coming layoffs, the park is poised to enter its busiest months of the year severely short-staffed.”

Local reporting by Salt Lake City’s FOX-13 likewise reported chaotic conditions at Zion National Park, describing a “crisis … brewing” with short-staff, increasing traffic from visitors and an ongoing lack of funding.

In her statement, Pierno noted that “exempting National Park Service seasonal staff from the federal hiring freeze means parks can fill some visitor services positions,” but she characterized the firings as potentially devastating for both parks and the communities that surround them.

“Years of budget cuts are already weakening the agency’s ability to protect and preserve these incredible places,” Pierno said. “National parks fuel local economies across the country, generating billions of dollars for area businesses and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. Slashing staff could have a ripple effect on gateway businesses and communities that depend on parks for survival.”

Representatives from the Interior Department, the National Park Service and Redwood National and State Parks could not be reached at the time of publication.

Robert Schaulis can be reached at 707-441-0585.