Internal government data shows national parks across the U.S. are suffering after steep cuts from the Trump administration. Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, joins CBS News.

Arizona

National parks in the United States have been impacted by staffing reductions and a hiring freeze implemented by the Trump administration. Internal government data indicates that at least 90 parks have reported operational challenges, with nearly 70 reducing visitor hours or services, 22 postponing maintenance, and 11 delaying or closing facilities. 

The National Parks Conservation Association reports that overall staffing for the National Park Service is down 24% since the start of the administration, affecting roles from lifeguards to custodial and safety staff. Visitors are advised to prepare for limited assistance and to take extra precautions, as the reduced workforce may affect both convenience and safety. Calls have been made to lift the hiring freeze and restore staffing levels to maintain park operations and visitor safety.

Trump cuts leave national parks understaffed, visitor hours reduced

National parks across the US are suffering after steep cuts from the Trump administration. Internal government data shows at least 90 national parks reported problems stemming from departures, cuts, and a hiring freeze that was between April and July. As a result, nearly 70 parks reduced visitor hours or services, 22 of them postponed maintenance, and 11 closed or delayed the opening of facilities. Earlier this summer, we visited Maryland's Assateague Island National Seashore, which is managed by the National Park Service. And according to analysis by the National Parks Conservation Association, the Trump administration is also falling behind on its pledge to hire nearly 8,000 seasonal workers with just over half of those positions filled by July. And that does include crucial lifeguard roles. The reason there are no lifeguards at Assateague is honestly a symptom of the chaos and dysfunction that has been impacting this agency since the beginning of this administration. And Kristen Brinkle joins us now. She's the senior vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association. Kristen, thanks for joining us to talk about this important topic here. So your organization found that staffing for the National Park Service is down 24% overall since President Trump took office in January. So this, though, goes well beyond just inconveniences for tourists. How can these shortages potentially also affect visitors' health and physical safety, and has it already done so? Yes, what we found in the data that the Park Service recorded was that not only are lifeguards in need in national seashores, but everyone from custodial staff at the Grand Canyon, hazardous tree removal staff at battlefields, even preventative search and rescue folks at Joshua Tree are missing from our national parks now because of the severe staff reduction. In addition to all of that, there's been a heavy emphasis on Washington, D.C. right now. The maintenance of all of the lighting around the National Mall has, there are much fewer people doing that now than there would have been back in January. Kristen, we're talking to you now as there are nearly three weeks officially left of summer, fall, also though a very popular time of year for many of these National Park Service sites. Given these staff issues and these safety warnings, how should visitors prepare if they do plan on visiting one of those sites? Yeah, we know people really enjoy this time of year, especially in places like Southern Utah, and they also begin to go leaf peeping in Shenandoah and Acadia. These parks will have fewer staff. They will have fewer people to help you. So what we urge folks to do is make sure you bring enough water, make sure you wear the best shoes you possibly could for hiking, and make sure you're ready to sort of take care of yourself when you're in the parks. There just aren't going to be enough staff people to help you if you run into any problems. So we really want people to be as prepared as possible. Look on the Park Service's website, make sure you look at the temperatures before you go, but try to take care of yourself while you're out there because we know the parks are very short-staffed right now. Yeah, especially important because cell phone reception is often not guaranteed at many of these Park Service sites. Very good advice there. Going forward also though, Kristen, what can be done to preserve the current staff at National Parks and to fill the openings left behind by these staffing cuts and new administration policies? Yeah, the administration has basically put in place a hiring freeze since January, and they've renewed it every three months. We need them to lift the hiring freeze for the entire Park Service staff so that these vacancies can be filled. There are about 100 superintendents that are missing from our National Parks right now. That means basic leadership in the parks is missing. So we need to lift the hiring freeze and stop the threats of more reductions in force. It's just essential. We need these Park Service staff. 24% since January is devastating to the parks, and we need to fix that immediately. Kristen Brinkle, thank you for joining us. Thank you.

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