An association for national park rangers says it has confirmed the layoffs of at least 17 employees in Utah as part of the Trump administration’s move to fire 1,000 National Park Service workers last week.
Utah’s national park sites brought $3 billion to the state’s economy in 2023, according to a National Park Service report released in September, bringing in 15.7 million visitors and supporting over 26,500 jobs.
An association for national park rangers says it has confirmed the layoffs of at least 17 employees in Utah as part of the Trump administration’s move to fire 1,000 National Park Service workers last week.
Bill Wade, executive director for the Association of National Park Rangers, said that 12 employees were fired from Zion, two employees from Bryce Canyon and three from Capitol Reef. He was not able to confirm numbers from Arches and Canyonlands National Park as of Thursday evening.
The National Parks Conservation Association also confirmed the layoffs through conversations with park leadership, said Cassidy Jones, senior visitation program manager for the organization. But Jones, who lives in Utah and previously worked for the park service, said she has received reports that the number is closer to 30.
Jones said that the layoffs have affected Utah national parks’ specialized positions, maintenance and operations, including people who give tours, clear trails and restock toilet paper.
The employees who have been laid off are “really embedded in their communities,” she continued. “They were fired by people 2,000 miles away, and pretty indiscriminately.”
The park service manages the state’s five national parks alongside six national monuments, one national recreation area and one national historic park.
The full extent of the NPS layoffs in Utah remains unknown, as park representatives and staff have not confirmed the number of terminated employees. A public affairs specialist for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks said they were “awaiting guidance from our Washington D.C-based communications team on how parks are permitted to respond” when asked about the layoffs.
The Association of National Park Rangers reported that probationary employees nationwide Friday night received “written notice of [the NPS Deputy Director’s] decision to terminate, during the probationary period, your competitive service appointment to the position of … with the National Park Service. My decision becomes effective immediately.”
The “probationary period” refers to the year after an employee starts a new role, during which they do not have civil service protections.
Wade said park service employees who collected fees and worked in “interpretive and education programs” were the hardest hit across the country.
“But it really depends on which positions were in that probationary time in each park,” he said. “It’s really hard to predict, and the way each park is going to have to deal with it and handle it is going to differ from one to the other.”
Jones said visitors to Utah’s national parks in the near future should expect long lines, fewer rangers to answer questions. Remaining park staffers could be pulled away from their regular duties to respond to search and rescue situations, she said, and there will likely be fewer staff available to educate visitors on archaeological and cultural sites.
Utah’s national park sites brought $3 billion to the state’s economy in 2023, according to an NPS report released in September, bringing in 15.7 million visitors and supporting over 26,500 jobs.
“Investments into Utah national parks give back to communities and these visitors support the state’s economy,” Kate Hammond, director of the NPS’ Intermountain Region, said in a statement when the report was published. Attempts to contact Hammond Thursday were not successful.
Jones said that Utah’s national parks become busy earlier in the year compared to others across the West. “Spring is going to be rough,” she said, without as many NPS employees. Those workers, who are already stretched thin by answering questions in the visitor center, cleaning restrooms and directing parking, will be even more limited, Jones said.
Amid the Trump administration’s hiring freeze and recent layoffs, the service will hire 5,000 seasonal workers to staff the parks this spring and summer.
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