This podcast was originally published in Laist.
What is the current state of the National Park Service?
The Trump administration has fired about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other functions as part of its broad-based effort to downsize government. The firings come amid what has been a chaotic rollout of an aggressive program to eliminate thousands of federal jobs. The plan is led by billionaire Elon Musk and the new Department of Government Efficiency, a Trump administration effort to slash federal spending. Park advocates say the permanent staff cuts will leave hundreds of national parks — including some of the most well-known and most heavily visited sites — understaffed and facing tough decisions about operating hours, public safety and resource protection. Experts say that visitors to the parks should expect trash to pile up, restrooms to go uncleaned, guided tours to be cut back or canceled and, in the worst cases, public safety to be at risk. Joining us to discuss is Neal Desai,Pacific Regional Director for the National Park Conservation Association, and Benji Jones, environmental correspondent for VOX. We also want to haer from you! What do the National Parks mean to you?
