The Department of the Interior has a new plan to help fund the U.S. National Parks: raise the price for foreign visitors.

The department recently outlining its 2026 budget plans, and included in the brief is a plan to levy a surcharge on visitors coming from outside of the United States. According to the document, the fee could generate more than $90 million to help cover the costs of maintaining visitor services at national parks, which are facing a proposed budget cut of $1.2 billion next year.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e way undercharging, as a nation, for international visitors,鈥� Secretary Doug Burgum said during a House Committee on Natural Resources oversight hearing in early June.

The origins of the plan came from a Bozeman, Montana-based think tank that works on environmental policy called the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC).

In 2023, PERC titled How Overseas Visitors Can Help Steward Our National Parks that suggested a $25 surcharge on foreign visitors could generate $330 million, which would double the revenue the NPS generates in fees.

In March, the 听10 Ideas for the Interior Department that included the proposal.听, Brian Yablonski, the CEO of PERC proposed the idea to Burgum earlier this year.听国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to the National Park Service for comment but did not hear back by the publishing date of this story.

国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to PERC to discuss the plans. A PERC economist named Tate Watkins, who authored the 2023 report, said that raising the price to entry represents the easiest way to generate more revenue for the NPS.

鈥淚f your goal is to make sure national parks have the resources they need to be stewarded properly now and for future generations, the entry fee structure is the lowest hanging fruit,鈥� Watkins told 国产吃瓜黑料.

Currently the NPS operates on a $3.1 billion annual budget, with most of the money coming via federal funding allocated by Congress. But the NPS sites do generate revenue via entry fees. more than 80 percent of the money generated by these fees is invested back into the parks.

Entry fees for NPS sites vary. Yellowstone National Park currently charges $20 per person or $35 for a single car. Great Smoky Mountains National Park requires a $5 daily parking fee.

Watkins pointed out that several other countries charge international visitors extra to visit natural wonders, parklands, and historic sites. At Gal谩pagos National Park in Ecuador, foreign guests pay $100 to enter, compared to $6 for locals. Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya both charge international visitors $70, while residents of either country pay $4 and $7, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., a family from France visiting Zion National Park for three days would pay $35 for a week-long park pass鈥攖he same as an American family.

鈥淭he American family is actually paying more than the international tourists because Americans already contribute a small portion to the National Park Service budget through taxes,鈥� Watkins said.

Critics of the plan have suggested the increase in fees might deter visits from foreign travelers. SFGATE estimates that 14 million people from outside of the United States visited an NPS site in 2024. Watkins says his research suggests the contrary. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a negligible amount,鈥� Watkins said. 鈥淔or people traveling from overseas it鈥檚 a tiny slice of their overall budget.鈥�

A PERC study in 2017 estimated that raising the vehicle entry fee at Yellowstone National Park from $30 to $70 would decrease visitation from foreign visitors by only 0.07 percent.

鈥淚t won鈥檛 deter many at all,鈥� Watkins said. 鈥淥n the flip side, even a modest increase could bring in a ton of revenue.鈥�

In its March report, PERC outlined other strategies for NPS, including a revamped fee structure for U.S. visitors as well. Watkins said the current structure is 鈥淎 relatively blunt system today.”

One of PERC鈥檚 recommendations is to offer weekday discounts for American visitors. The report also recommends increasing the price of the America the Beautiful Parks Pass, which grants a holder entry to 2,000 recreation sites, including all 433 NPS sites. The pass currently costs $80.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 an immense value,鈥� Watkins said. 鈥淓specially when you compare it with the cost of private attractions or even similar passes offered by state parks.鈥�

The Department of the Interior has released few details about its proposed fee on foreign visitors, and has not divulged which parks would see an increase or by how much.

Watkins predicts the fee increase will impact 鈥渂ig name destination parks鈥� such as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite. In 2024 the NPS sites recorded 331.9 million visits, the most in history.

Despite the uptick in visits, the NPS is slated to endure a 40 percent decrease in federal funding in 2026. Major cuts are slated for the NPS’s maintenance division.

According to Watkins, the total NPS maintenance backlog across all sites is approaching $24 billion鈥攎ore than double what it was ten years ago. Additional revenue generated by new fees, he said, could alleviate some of the pressure.

鈥淲ithout some kind of action, our crown jewel parks are on an unsustainable path of deterioration,鈥� Watkins said.

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The U.S. Senate’s plan to sell off millions of acres of public land just lost considerable steam in the halls of power.

And the Republican Senator behind the plan says he will adopt a new strategy.

On Monday, June 23, Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate Parliamentarian鈥攁n advisor and referee-like figure who enforces the voting rules of the U.S. Senate鈥攔uled that the provision could not added to the Republican-led reconciliation bill. The decision was announced in a and was first reported by .

The move has raised the political bar for the provision. Instead of passing via a simple 51-vote majority, the plan would require a two-thirds vote to pass.

The current party division in the U.S. Senate is 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two Independents.

The shift comes after the proposed sell-off generated vocal backlash not only from Democrats and conservation groups, but also from Republican officials, business owners, and non-profits focused on hunting and fishing.

The public lands sell-off was originally part of President Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” and was added by Utah Senator Mike Lee, the chair of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources committee. The original plan called for the U.S. to auction off up to 3 million acres of land in 11 western states managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to raise funds for federal spending.

Housing prices are crushing families and keeping young Americans from living where they grew up. We need to change that.

Thanks to YOU鈥攖he AMERICAN PEOPLE鈥攈ere鈥檚 what I plan to do:

1. REMOVE ALL Forest Service land. We are NOT selling off our forests.

2. SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE鈥�

鈥� Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee)

On Monday, Lee saying he would alter the proposal鈥攂ut still include plans to sell public land.

“Remove all Forest Service land. We are not selling off our forests,” Lee wrote. “Significantly reduce the amount of BLM land in the bill. Only land within 5 miles of population centers is eligible.”

According to E&E News Lee has not yet submitted any changes to the plan to the Senate parliamentarian.

In late June, four Republican senators came out in opposition of the plan: Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, and Jim Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho.

“After reviewing the Senate Energy and Natural Resources reconciliation language, I do not support the proposed provision to sell public lands,” Risch released on June 20.

More pushback came from hunting groups. Hunter Nation, a non-profit group that aims to “preserve and protect our nation’s hunting heritage,” told its members on social media that it “stands opposed to the indiscriminate sale of our public lands.”

Update from Capitol Hill on the proposed sell off of public lands: is currently headed into a meeting with lawmakers to make sure our voices are heard!

Be sure to do your part as well and message or call your Senator TODAY!

鈥� James Jinnette (@james_jinnette1)

“These lands belong to ‘We the People’ and they should continue to remain as such,” the group wrote.

In Wyoming, to Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, calling the plan a “non-starter for Wyomingites.”

The news sparked a wave of positive public statements from conservation and wildlife non-profits.

The sell-off plan is out鈥攆or now. Last night鈥檚 win is a big step forward, but public lands are still under threat. Americans have spoken: These places belong to all of us. Let鈥檚 keep it that way. Read more from :

鈥� Trust for Public Land (@tpl_org)

The Trust for Public Land called the development “an important victory,” and the result of Americans making it “overwhelming clear they do not want to see their public lands sold off to the highest bidder.”

Tracy Stone-Manning, the president of , and former head of the Bureau of Land Management, said the news was “a victory for the American public.”

“We trust the next politician who wants to sell off public lands will remember that people of all stripes will stand against the idea,” Stone-Manning added. “Our public lands are not for sale.”

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New messaging posted at U.S. national parks and historic sites is requesting that park visitors report 鈥渁ny signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans.鈥�

The Colorado Sun, signs with the directive were posted on Friday, June 13, at the in eastern Colorado. Amache was one of ten incarceration sites for Japanese Americans during World War II.

An identical sign was posted at the nearby Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Colorado. In 1864, the U.S. Army slaughtered approximately 750 Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho indigenous people on the grounds.

In a , Rachel Pawlitz, a spokesperson for the NPS, said the order “reaffirms the NPS mission by emphasizing the importance of accuracy in how we tell stories of American history.”

But the听request has sparked concern that the federal government is attempting to whitewash its own history.

Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, called the order an attempt to rewrite American history.

“Rangers should be able to talk about the history of Japanese American incarceration at Amache, or the history of slavery at Fort Monroe, without looking over their shoulders in fear,” Pierno . “If our country erases the darker chapters of our history, we will never learn from our mistakes. These signs must come down immediately.鈥�

In addition to reporting any negative depictions of Americans, the signs also request that visitors file a report if they see any information that does not 鈥渆mphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features,鈥� and notify the Park Service of any 鈥渁reas that need repair鈥� or 鈥渟ervices that need improvement.鈥� Each sign includes a URL and scannable QR code, which leads to a webpage.

The signage comes on the heels of an executive order, 鈥淩estoring Truth and Sanity to American History,鈥� issued by President Donald Trump in late March, which was implemented by Doug Burgum, U.S. Secretary of the Interior (DOI) on May 20.

Trump鈥檚 order decried 鈥渁 concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation鈥檚 history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth鈥� and said this effort has seen to it that 鈥渙ur Nation鈥檚 unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.鈥�

When it was issued on March 27, the 鈥溾�� order made national news because it aggressively targeted the Smithsonian Institution, requiring that the museum 鈥渞emove improper ideology.鈥� of the order鈥檚 implementation in the DOI also requires the posting of the signs seen at Amache and Sand Creek last week.

Burgum ordered the leaders of the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Bureau of Reclamation to post such signage 鈥渢hroughout each property, in as many locations within each property as necessary and appropriate to ensure public awareness.鈥�

The order also requires that within 120 days, every department remove any information that 鈥渋nappropriately disparages Americans past or living.鈥�

The implementation of this order obviously will hinge on each park manager鈥檚 interpretation of the word 鈥渋nappropriately.鈥�

John Hopper, founder of the Amache Preservation Society, runs a museum dedicated to the internment camp in the town of Granada. 鈥淚t鈥檚 simple,鈥� he told the Sun. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 sugarcoat history. You have to learn from it, right?鈥�

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The National Park Service will lose almost 40 percent of its annual funding and surrender an undetermined amount of federally-run parks to state control鈥攊f the White House鈥檚 plans for 2026 come to fruition.

On Friday, President Donald Trump released his t for 2026, a 44-page document submitted to U.S. Congress that outlines how the government will allocate federal dollars next year.

Included in the document are dramatic upheavals to the Park Service. Currently the NPS operates 63 National Parks and 433 NPS sites, which include national historic sites, national monuments, battlefields, memorials, parkways, rivers, and reserves. In total, the NPS oversees 85 million acres of federal land.

“The National Park Service responsibilities include a large number of sites that are not 鈥楴ational Parks,鈥� in the traditionally understood sense, many of which receive small numbers of mostly local visitors and are better categorized and managed as State-level parks,” the document states. “The Budget would continue supporting many national treasures, but there is an urgent need to streamline staffing and transfer certain properties to State-level management to ensure the long-term health and sustainment of the National Park System.”

The document did not specify which sites would be transferred to state control.

The NPS cuts in the president’s budget total $1.2 billion, and include $900 million removed from the NPS operating budget, $77 million in National Recreation and Preservation grants, $73 million in construction costs. Also set to be cut is $158 million from the NPS Historic Preservation Fund.

“Many historic preservation projects have matching funds from State, local, and private sources, rendering the Historic Preservation Fund highly duplicative,” the document states.

For 2025, the NPS is receiving $3.1 billion in federal funding, a 6 percent decrease from 2024. Trimming $1.2 billion represents a 38 percent cut of the NPS budget and approximately five hundredths of a percent of the annual federal budget.

国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to the Interior Department for comment. 鈥淲e do not comment on personnel matters but please know the Department of the Interior is doing the work necessary to ensure that every visitor has the chance to explore and connect with the incredible, iconic spaces of our national parks,” a department spokesperson said. “We hope that people plan their trips ahead and we look forward to a successful summer filled with memorable and meaningful experiences for all.鈥�

The news prompted spirited replies from nonprofit groups and foundations that work alongside the National Park Service.

鈥淭his is the most extreme, unrealistic and destructive National Park Service budget a President has ever proposed in the agency鈥檚 109-year history,鈥� said Theresa Pierno, the National Park Conservation Association鈥檚 president and CEO, said in a release. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nothing less than an all-out assault on America鈥檚 national parks.鈥�

Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, called the plan “disastrous.”

“Many states don鈥檛 have the resources to maintain these parks and the federal government walking away from their responsibility would result in closed parks, safety risks, trails that are not maintained, and far fewer park rangers,” she said in a statement. “This will be disastrous for not just visitors and resources, but local economies who depend on park tourism as economic drivers. Congress should reject this proposal outright.鈥�

The budget request comes after the White House has already made major cuts to the NPS workforce. In February, the federal government terminated 1,000 full-time NPS employees, and in the weeks afterward offered buyouts to 750 others.

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Spring is normally quiet at national park conservancies, the nonprofit groups that raise money and recruit volunteers for the U.S. National Parks. In March and April, staffers at these charity organizations finalize fundraising campaigns in advance of the busy summer months.

But this spring has been exceptionally busy at the Shenandoah National Park Trust, which raises money for Virginia鈥檚 Shenandoah National Park. The office is abuzz with ringing phones and pinging email notifications, Jessica Cocciolone, the executive director, told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had more than 150 inquiries about volunteering in just the past two months,鈥� Cocciolone said. That鈥檚 more than triple the total number of inquiries the group received in 2024.

It鈥檚 a similar story with the Friends of Acadia, the nonprofit attached to Maine鈥檚 Acadia National Park. When I exchanged emails with Perrin Doniger, the group鈥檚 vice president of marketing, the group was making final preparations for its Earth Day Roadside Cleanup on April 26.

Friends of Acadia had already reached its capacity of 350 volunteers, Doniger told me. 鈥淲e’re seeing a tremendous amount of support for Acadia National Park from our members and volunteers right now,鈥� she said in an email.

This is , or the rest of America鈥檚 63 national parks and 433 National Park Service-managed sites. Starting in February, the Federal government fired 1,000 NPS workers and persuaded 750 to take buyouts. Since then, the听 government has issued a flurry of unprecedented orders that range from requiring parks to giving the power to 鈥渆ffectuate the consolidation, unification and optimization of administrative functions鈥� within the NPS.

As the NPS has been shaken up, the nonprofits associated with individual National Parks have seen a major uptick in volunteers and cash donations. 国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to some of the most prominent NPS nonprofits, and heard a similar story.

鈥淲e’re seeing a lot of interest among our supporters and our members in finding ways they can express their care for the park,鈥� said Elizabeth Silkes, chief executive officer for the Grand Canyon Conservancy (GCC). The organization launched a new fundraising campaign on April 24 called Stand Together for Grand Canyon.

The includes information on how to connect with elected representatives to speak up for national parks, as well as links to sign up to volunteer and to donate money. Silkes said the GCC is still auditing their donations from the first quarter of 2025, but she anticipates an increase from 2024.

While the NPS is funded by the federal government, nonprofits like the Grand Canyon Conservancy pay for a wide array of programs, from trail maintenance, to educational classes for kids, to seasonal staff inside of the park. Each conservancy has its own strategy for investing funds and manpower.

At Grand Canyon National Park, the GCC operates six park stores next to visitor centers, and also completes annual building maintenance at two historic buildings: the Kolb Studio and Verkamp Residences.

The GCC also provides funding and volunteers for the Grand Canyon’s Preventative Search and Rescue teams, which educate visitors on how to stay safe on the trails.

Silkes said the funds garnered from the 2025 campaign campaign will go directly toward ensuring 鈥渢he stability of the park.鈥� She doesn鈥檛 have details about how the funds will be spent, but said that in times of financial uncertainty, NPS programs around scientific research, climate research, and conservation are put under threat. Partnership initiatives with the Grand Canyon鈥檚 eleven associated tribes are also jeopardized. “GCC funds are always applied to the priority areas identified by our park partners, and we are prepared to be responsive as their needs evolve,” said Silkes.

Rocky Mountain Conservancy (RMC), the nonprofit for Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, has a 鈥渉ealthy best-use fund,鈥� according to Kaci Yoh, Communications Manager, that鈥檚 designed to help its partner park pivot in times of, say, shifting priorities in the White House. But with so many changes happening so fast, the RMC hasn’t yet received guidance from Rocky Mountain National Park about how to spend those funds in 2025.

Like the GCC, Yoh has seen a surge of calls and emails from people looking to volunteer, particularly offering to help fill in where Rocky Mountain Park has lost staff.

Yoh said that volunteers cannot overcome the park’s need for full-time staff. 鈥淧ark staff are necessary to fulfill the roles that they have because they’re highly trained and vetted for their particular position,鈥� said Yoh.

Or as Cocciolone at Shenandoah put it, 鈥淭he challenge isn鈥檛 interest鈥攊t鈥檚 capacity. As park staff numbers go down, there鈥檚 less ability to train, manage, and support volunteers.鈥�

The Shenandoah Trust has, in the past, helped the park during government shutdowns, providing portable restrooms and volunteer support, Cocciolone said. During normal years, the Shenandoah Trust supplies campground hosts, volunteers to remove invasive species, and trail crews, among other positions.

“Historically, philanthropic support has not replaced federal funding or paid for permanent government roles,” Cocciolone said. “Our role is to provide additive support that enhances what the federal budget enables, not to supplant it.”

But the staff cuts within the NPS have forced some conservancy leaders to rethink this approach. Shenandoah National Park Trust is considering expanding its role to fund permanent park positions. 鈥淲e firmly believe it鈥檚 the federal government鈥檚 job to operate and steward these parks in line with the NPS mission,鈥� Cocciolone said. 鈥淏ut we also know these are unprecedented times, and we鈥檙e being asked to do more.鈥�

Cassius M. Cash, President and CEO of Yosemite Conservancy, echoed that sentiment .听鈥淚f park leadership needs new solutions to keep visitor services running, how can we be creative in our approach while remaining true to our own mission?鈥� Cash wrote.

Cash also stated that while the Yosemite Conservancy is a nonpartisan organization, the group would work closely with 鈥減artners and stakeholders who understand the importance of protecting national parks in times of transition.鈥�

Cocciolone concurred. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also leaning more into advocacy鈥攈elping educate donors, policymakers, and our community about what these cuts really mean on the ground,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about what gets funded, but what gets lost if we don鈥檛 act.鈥�

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On February 14, 2025, the National Park Service around 1,000 probationary employees in conjunction with a White House effort to reduce the federal workforce. Although a spate of eventually reversed many of the layoffs and reinstated probationary employees to their jobs, roughly five weeks elapsed between the initial firing and eventual rehiring mandate. Those intervening weeks were chaotic for many NPS employees, who wondered what they would do for their livelihoods.

At the same time, Ali Murphy, a former marketing executive and the founder of , a new travel platform focused on creating expert-guided custom itineraries for active travelers, was in the middle of preparing to launch her company. When she heard the news of the layoffs, she quickly recognized a chance to pair individuals with deep, location-specific expertise with travelers looking for guidance on their next adventure. On Facebook, Murphy offered former rangers the chance to put their skill set to use at her fledgling company.

On February 20, 2025, a week after the initial layoffs, Murphy put out a call to all those affected: 鈥淭his is devastating,鈥� she wrote in her post. 鈥淏ut your knowledge is still incredibly valuable鈥� If you want to keep sharing what you know, we鈥檇 love to have you.鈥�

Right now, you can book a call with an Outdoorable expert for $60, and Murphy told me the experts themselves take home $45 of that. That鈥檚 a pretty sizable cut. While there are other adventure and gear concierge services out there鈥攍ike 鈥檚 trip-planning service, or Backcountry鈥檚 popular 鈥擮utdoorable seems to fill a pretty distinct niche when it comes to trip planning and prep.

Here at 国产吃瓜黑料, we saw Murphy鈥檚 post and wondered: what happened next? Did NPS folks actually get in touch? We reached out to understand a little more about Outdoorable and its mission鈥攁nd what the response to her post has been like.

How Outdoorable Is Tapping Into Ranger Talent to Improve Outdoor Acesss

OUTSIDE: What happened when you put out that call to former NPS employees? What was the response like?

Murphy: I think I had 70 people apply to Outdoorable from that one post. I pretty much cried after every call. I was so jazzed because people were enthused, and it gave me the chance to tell them that what they know is valuable.

So, what exactly is Outdoorable? What makes it different from other travel sites or chatbots?

I think the travel industry largely ignores the people who are in need of the most guidance. We make false assumptions that people have networks or they know what to look for or they even know where to go. What if you could talk to a former national park ranger? Some people are going to AI for travel advice these days, but there are certain things AI cannot do. AI can’t look you in the eye and say, 鈥淗oney, you’re not crazy. You can do that hike.鈥� Or, 鈥淭alk to me about your knee. Are you better on uphill or downhill?鈥�

How does Outdoorable plan to address representation and access deficits that can make it harder for some folks to envision themselves in the outdoors?

At the start of this, I had an interesting conversation with James Edward Mills, who kind of wrote the book on inclusion spaces. I called him and told him that it’s really important to me that Outdoorable becomes a place where people of all backgrounds can go, and that they feel comfortable getting outside. That conversation was really illuminating because Mills said, 鈥淚t’s all about representation.鈥� For example, if you’re a queer traveler trying to do van life, you want to talk to a queer traveler if you can. And just seeing someone who looks like you or who has had a similar life path to you can help you envision yourself chasing that dream. We鈥檙e working on getting a diverse panel of experts on the platform so people can have that experience.

Okay, let鈥檚 say I鈥檓 a traveler. After I fill out the intake form and get paired with a guide on your website, what can I expect?

Your guide will read your form and know all about you before the call. They’re excited to talk to you. You can expect someone who has a wide range of knowledge to the extent that they can ask you questions you hadn’t thought of, almost like trip therapy. So you might be saying, 鈥淗ey, I’m doing a road trip around Utah’s national parks. I’m going to go to five parks in seven days.鈥� Your guide isn鈥檛 going to be afraid to push back if they need to. They鈥檒l say, 鈥淣o you鈥檙e not,鈥� or, 鈥淗ave you thought about this? Or looked at it this way? What are you actually trying to accomplish on this trip?鈥� Or, on the other hand, if you鈥檝e shared about a trip you鈥檙e uncertain about, they might reassure you that that trip is well within your ability. You can expect a real thought partner.

Sounds like Outdoorable is for everyone鈥攂ut who do you see using the platform most often?

I鈥檇 say the biggest use case we’ve seen so far has been for casual recreationists. They want to get out, they’re outdoorsy, they’d love to do a hike, but they’re not in the Reddit forums. They don’t own all the Osprey packs. The outdoor travel industry forgets about this segment of people, which is most people.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

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It turns out that the U.S. national parks are more popular than ever.

The National Park Service (NPS) this week revealed that a record-breaking number of visitors toured its sites in 2024. According to the agency’s , the 404 out of the 433 NPS sites that that report data鈥攊ncluding all 63 national parks鈥攕aw 331,863,858 individual visits last year.

That’s 6.36 million more visits than in 2023 and approximately one million more than the previous record, which was set in 2016 when the park service recorded 330,971,689 visits.

The report went up on the NPS website on Wednesday, March 5; however, the data was not distributed to media in a press release as in previous years. On Thursday, March 6, The听 that the NPS asked staff in an internal memo not to push the information via a release or social media to the public.

国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to the NPS for comment but did not hear back by the time this story was published.

Buried within the report are a handful of compelling takeaways: NPS sites experienced major visitation upticks in March and June compared to the five-year average, while visitation during the remaining months was consistent with that of previous years.

NPS sites also saw an increase in overnight stays鈥攖his includes camping and nights spent at concession-operated lodges and hotels鈥攋umping 2.6 percent from 2023. Overnight stays at lodges increased 11.7 percent from 2023 numbers.

According to the data, 28 of the 404 parks set records for visitation鈥攂ut some of the most popular U.S. National Parks did not. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which historically sees more visits than any national park, saw a slight downturn in visits: 12.1 million in 2024 compared to 13.2 million in 2023. The Grand Canyon attracted 4.9 million visits鈥攗p from 2023 numbers鈥攂ut far short of its 2018 record of 6.3 million. Yellowstone National Park recorded its second busiest year, with 4.7 million visits, and Yosemite National Park its fifth busiest听with 4.1 million visits.

Instead, a handful of the NPS-managed National Recreation Areas and National Historic Sites experienced surges in visitation. Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California recorded 17.1 million visits, topping the previous record of 15.6 million in 2022. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. also experienced a record year, with 8.4 million visits. Gateway Arch National Recreation Area in Missouri also broke records with 8.4 million visitors.

The news comes as the NPS is weathering a staffing crisis after losing approximately ten percent of its workforce since the start of the year. On February 14, the NPS fired 1,000 employees with probationary status鈥攁 designation given to all workers in their first 12 months of employment. An additional 700 NPS workers reportedly took early retirement buyouts, further weakening the agency’s staff size.

The cuts are part of the Trump Administration’s efforts to shrink federal spending.

鈥淭he National Park Service just reported the highest visitation in its history, as the administration conducts massive firings and threatens to close visitor centers and public safety facilities,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Park Conservation Association (NPCA) in a press release.

On Thursday, March 6 the NPCA, a nonpartisan group that advocates for the parks, operated by the NPS. The collection includes visitor centers, rescue facilities, and offices of law enforcement.

Brengel said the information was released by the House Natural Resources Committee on Friday, February 28.

Included in the list of canceled leases are nine visitor centers and contact stations:

• Morris Thompson visitor center in Fairbanks Alaska
• Little River Canyon center in Center, Alabama
• New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park center in Louisiana
• Mississippi National River center in St. Paul, Minnesota
• Niobrara National Scenic River center in Valentine, Nebraska
• Salinas Pueblo Mission center in Mountainair, New Mexico
• Missouri National Recreation River center in Yankton, South Dakota
• Klondike Gold Rush center in Seattle, Washington.

鈥淎s peak travel season arrives, park visitors will have to contend with closed visitor centers and campgrounds, canceled ranger programs, and less search and rescue staff,” Brengel said in a release. “If building leases are cancelled, it will make these problems worse.”

The post America鈥檚 National Parks Set a Visitation Record in 2024 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Alex Wild, 35, has been a park ranger for 15 years, working seasonal National Park Service positions for five of the last six years. Then, in 2024, Wild landed his dream job as an interpretive ranger at California鈥檚 Devil鈥檚 Postpile National Monument. He was still within the 12-month probationary period that all NPS workers undergo when they start a new position when the Trump Administration began slashing NPS jobs on February 14. Like thousands of other federal workers, Wild was told that afternoon that he鈥檇 been let go.

鈥淚 was the one who interacted with the park鈥檚 visitors, who handed out the badges for the Junior Ranger program, who coordinated visits from churches and other community groups,鈥� Wild told 国产吃瓜黑料. He was also the park鈥檚 only EMT, and the first responder for emergencies, assisting in multiple incidents every week.

Like many cut NPS staffers, Wild to express his sadness. 鈥淢y heart is broken for all of the other people who lost their jobs and their housing,鈥� he wrote on Instagram. 鈥淢y heart is broken for the parks and landscapes that will be damaged. And my heart is broken for my country.鈥�

Wild is one of an estimated 5,000 employees working for public lands who have lost their jobs since February 14. About 1,000 of these were with the National Park Service鈥攁nother 700 NPS employees reportedly took buyouts and went into early retirement. The rest were with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

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In the days since the massive layoffs, media outlets and the public have sought to understand how these cuts will impact specific National Parks. After all, the busy spring and summer travel seasons are on the horizon, and in just a few weeks millions of Americans will descend on America鈥檚 parklands and campgrounds for their vacations.

Most NPS site have yet to publish details on which jobs have been lost amid the culling, and the NPS’s national office has not distributed a list of fired employees.听国产吃瓜黑料 reached out to the NPS national office to inquire about specific jobs that were terminated, but the agency didn’t respond. 听鈥淭he National Park Service is hiring seasonal workers to continue enhancing the visitor experience as we embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation in workforce management. We are focused on ensuring that every visitor has the chance to explore and connect with the incredible, iconic spaces of our national parks,鈥� read a statement released by the NPS on February 27.

Instead, the public has pieced together information via , national stories, and crowdsourced information. This lack of details has caused headaches with the non-profit groups that work with the NPS and other agencies to assist with trail projects and fundraising.

鈥淭here hasn鈥檛 been any transparency from the administration about the layoffs or deferred resignations. The public is in the dark,鈥� said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of governmental affairs for the National Park Conservation Association. 鈥淭hankfully, many park rangers and staff who were laid off are speaking out and we are learning more about the positions lost. It should concern the public that maintenance technicians, wildlife biologists, interpreters, archeologists, ecologists who test water safety, fishery biologists, and EMTs were fired.鈥�

Amid the lack of information, social media posts like the one Wild published have helped media outlets and the general public get a sense of just how sweeping and damaging the cuts have been to the agency. This month, a non-profit group called the (ANPR) has shared crowdsourced information about how many layoffs have occurred at each park. The information was compiled by a seasonal ranger who has asked to remain anonymous. The ranger has maintained a detailed spreadsheet with the number of jobs lost at all 433 NPS sites, including the 63 national parks.

Bill Wade, the executive director of the ANPR, called the list “unofficial,” but said that the information has come from reliable sources.

“These numbers come from existing employees at national parks, or from friends groups that know what is going on at the park,” he told 国产吃瓜黑料.听Wade said that social media posts like the one Wild published have also helped his group tally the layoffs.

As of Friday, February 28, the group had charted 759 firings. 国产吃瓜黑料 was able to view the spreadsheet, and see how the layoffs impacted each national park. According to the ANPR鈥檚 data, these are the number of employees lost at each park:

• Acadia National Park: 8
• Arches National Park: 3
• Badlands National Park: 1
• Big Bend National Park: 5
• Biscayne National Park: 3
• Blue Ridge Parkway: 1
• Bryce Canyon National Park: 2
• Capitol Reef National Park: 1
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park: 14
• Channel Islands National Park: 6
• Congaree National Park: 1
• Crater Lake National Park: 1
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park: 4
• Death Valley National Park: 6
• Denali National Park and Reserve: 4
• Dry Tortugas National Park: 1
• Everglades National Park: 15
• Glacier National Park: 2
• Grand Canyon National Park: 10
• Grand Teton National Park: 4
• Great Basin National Park: 5
• Great Sand Dunes: 2
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park: 12
• Haleakala National Park: 7
• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: 7
• Isle Royale National Park: 1
• Joshua Tree National Park: 6
• Kenai Fjords National Park: 1
• Lassen Volcanic National Park: 1
• Mammoth Cave National Park: 15
• Mesa Verde National Park: 2
• Mount Rainier National Park: 10
• National Capital Parks-East: 6
• American Samoa: 5
• North Cascades National Park: 6
• Olympic National Park: 5
• Petrified Forest National Park: 5
• Pinnacles National Park: 2
• Redwood National Park: 6
• Rocky Mountain National Park: 12
• Saguaro National Park: 2
• Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park: 10
• Shenandoah National Park: 15
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park: 2
• Virgin Islands National Park: 2
• Wrangell-St Elias: 1
• Yellowstone National Park: 7
• Yosemite National Park: 9
• Zion National Park: 11

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Other areas managed by the NPS have suffered major cuts as well, according to the ANPR data. Lake Mead National Recreation area in Arizona lost 13 staffers, including an aquatic ecologist who tests water safety. Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey lost 11 staffers. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area lost 12, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area lost 10. The NPS鈥檚 Historic Preservation Training Center, a group that helps restore and maintain historic structures, let 34 people go.

The cuts have impacted a wide swath of jobs, from custodians and trail maintenance crews, to visitor center workers and听 fee collectors, as well as scientists and teachers. “We’ve been told that interpretive rangers and people who do education for kids and school groups were hit the hardest,” Wade said. “And people who are involved in collecting fees.”

Aubry Andreas, 29, was working as a visual information specialist at Rocky Mountain National Park when she became one of the park鈥檚 12 probationary employees fired on February 14.

Andres oversaw all of the park鈥檚 printed materials, which in 2023 was the fifth-most visited NPS site with 4 million visitors. Among her tasks were creating the annual visitor’s guide, maintaining the official park map and the area maps that get handed out to visitors, and helping with park signage.

At the time of her termination, Aubry was leading an initiative to develop a new accessibility guide to Rocky Mountain,听both for people with physical limitations as well as cognitive considerations. She was also redesigning the park鈥檚 junior ranger book using money from a grant.

鈥淭he crazy thing is, I鈥檓 the only Visual Information Specialist there,鈥� Andreas told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淣ow that I’m gone, all that work will either have to get dropped鈥攚hich obviously is going to impact visitors鈥攐r it’s going to get placed onto other people who already have their own full breadth of duties and responsibilities to carry out.鈥�

A group of former and current NPS workers plan to hold protests at more than 100 sites managed by the agency. The group is calling itself 鈥�.鈥�

Other Agencies Feel the Cuts

Thousands of employees with other agencies overseeing public land have also lost their jobs throughout February. The New York Times estimates that the National Forest Service lost 3,400 positions. Throughout February, laid-off employees from these agencies have also posted about their plights online.

The day before she lost her job with the U.S. Forest Service, Arianna Knight, the Wilderness Trails Supervisor for the Yellowstone Ranger District in Montana, was working late. She traversed the backcountry adjacent to Yellowstone National Park by snowmobile, doing routine maintenance on one of her district鈥檚 ten public rental cabins. When Knight, 29, returned to the office, she received an ominous text from her boss. 鈥淭here were whisperings of the terminations starting,鈥� Knight told 国产吃瓜黑料.

At home that evening, Knight checked the /fednews page on Reddit and learned that probationary employees听were going to be fired. Since stepping into a management role earlier in the year, she had been given that designation.

鈥淚 went into the office the next day knowing it was a lost cause,鈥� Knight said.

Losing Knight will have a dramatic impact on the Yellowstone Ranger District. In 2024 her maintenance team鈥攕he managed between two and eight workers鈥攃leared 4,062 trees that had fallen across trails near Yellowstone. Knight believes her ranger district won’t have the manpower in 2025 to do the same job. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not enough support available from nonprofits and volunteers, and they’re not specialized enough to do the type of work that we do,” she said.

Nate Stickler, 25, who was a trails crew leader in Colorado鈥檚 San Juan National Forest, told 国产吃瓜黑料 that he was two months away from finishing his probationary period when the cuts came down. The San Juan trails crew is comprised of seasonal workers, mostly novices, and volunteers. At the start of the season, it was Stickler鈥檚 job to train the crew, on everything from how to use a radio for communications in the backcountry to how to use a chainsaw.

鈥淭his is absolutely going to affect people鈥檚 experience of our public lands,鈥� Stickler said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that people will speak up and contact their congress person before the situation gets completely out of control.鈥�

Wild contends that by opting to fire people on probationary status, the federal government will lose some of its best public land managers. 鈥淭hese are the people who鈥檇 just gotten promotions,鈥� he said. 鈥淥r who鈥檇 performed so well in seasonal roles that they were offered permanent positions.鈥�

Sam Oseroff, 34, is one. In 2024 he was hired by the Middle Fork Ranger District in Willamette National Forest as a seasonal employee. After several months, the NFS offered him a permanent job as a forestry technician, starting in January, 2025.

鈥淚t was bad timing,鈥� Osteroff said. Doubly so because he鈥檇 just purchased a house鈥攁 decision he鈥檇 made after getting the offer for permanent work.

When Osteroff was let go, he was in the midst of replacing rotted beams on the roof of a shelter in one of the district鈥檚 campgrounds. He鈥檚 not sure who will take over the project, or how the rest of the maintenance that happens during winter is going to get finished. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a hot springs, a couple dozen trailheads, and about 15 campgrounds,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd only two people left to take care of them.鈥�

He’s also worried about the portion of the national forest closest to Eugene, Oregon, where unhoused people sometimes set up temporary camps, leaving behind garbage and human waste. 鈥淚n the fall, we filled a pickup truck and 26-foot trailer full of gross stuff from a campsite we found along Salomon Creek,” he said.

Knight said what鈥檚 happening is a devastating loss. 鈥淣ot only was my career taken from me in a way that can’t be replaced, but an entire industry is being dismantled,鈥� she said.

The post Here鈥檚 How Many Employees Each National Park Is Losing appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Let me establish my tourist bona fides before we go any further. I am a 47-year-old white man who has lived in the suburbs for the vast majority of my existence. I have spent a grand total of one week camping. I consider emptying the dishwasher to be hard labor. I don鈥檛 know how to pitch a tent, build a lean-to, start a fire without matches or a lighter, or climb any rock higher than three feet tall. I am not hardy. The only other time that 国产吃瓜黑料 asked me to write for them, it was to review bathrobes, which are generally not worn outside. I own both cargo shorts and a fanny pack.

Finally, I am an American. Nothing screams 鈥渢ourist鈥� more than being a big, stupid American.

And I am legion. The U.S. has a near-infinite supply of clueless tourists such as myself, much to the dismay of our National Park Service. Yellowstone, our most famous national park thanks to Kevin Costner, welcomes 4.5 million of us each year. Like all of our parks, Yellowstone takes in tourists not only for the revenue but to remind them that the physical country they reside in is a marvel well beyond their comprehension. As such, Yellowstone is set up to accommodate these hordes. And while park officials do their best to keep tourists in line, often literally, my kind still manage to do plenty of tourist shit. We . We get shitfaced and with animals ten times our size. And we hurt ourselves. According to NPS data, at least 74 people have died while visiting Yellowstone in the past 15 years. I could have been one of those people. I deserve to be one of those people.

This is why 国产吃瓜黑料 sent me to the park just a few weeks ago, during one of the busiest times of the year. They wanted me to observe our most basic tourists in the wild. Maybe I鈥檇 even get to see one die. Or, even better for my editors, maybe I would die while I was there. Maybe I鈥檇 look down my nose at the tourists around me only to end up as wolf food myself. Like most other Yellowstone visitors, I was not trained for the outdoors, I relish doing shit that posted signs yell at me not to do, and I often daydream about fighting bears (and winning!). I find danger tempting, which isn鈥檛 a good thing given that I can no longer swim a single pool lap without taking a break. Are people like me responsible enough to visit one of our national treasures without breaking it? Do we, as a population, know how to do national parks?

There was only one way to find out: by going into the park and behaving like an idiot.

The post Why Does Yellowstone National Park Turn Us All into Maniacs? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

America has more than 828 million acres of public lands, an incredible boon to adventurers in every state. This month, when the crowds flock to the major national parks, we鈥檝e got our eye on trips to 13 public lands worthy of explorations that feel truly wild and free. From caving, canoeing, and camping to mountain biking, birding, and swimming, you can relish these areas without pressure or reservations.

Ansel Adams Wilderness

Location: Straddling the Great Western Divide of the Sierra Nevada, California

Why we chose it: When summertime crowds make a beeline for Yosemite Valley, serious hikers, anglers, and backpackers skip the more popular national park in favor of this 232,000-acre expanse of sky-high granite ridges, sparkling alpine lakes, and high-altitude meadows bursting with wildflowers.

Favorite adventures: I鈥檓 a massive fan of any trails leading toward the toothy spires of the Ritter Range, most of which lies within the Ansel Adams Wilderness, and this area boasts 350 miles of those trails. Looking for a workout to make your calves burn? Grab a permit and strike out on a seven-mile (each way) overnight trip to the serrated fins surrounding Minaret Lake, with a quick detour to marvel at Devils Postpile. Prefer a mellow afternoon stroll to an idyllic fishing spot? Motor up to Lake Thomas A. Edison for sweeping Sierra views and the hope of hooking some German brown trout.

Where to stay: If you鈥檙e driving up from the west, check out the quirky Mono Hot Springs Resort (open late May to early November), which boasts a restaurant serving buffalo and wild salmon, private soaking tubs, and a smattering of rustic 1930s-era cabins to rent (from $155). Most visitors stay in the eastern-side mountain mecca of Mammoth Lakes; try the Tamarack Lodge (from $99) or, if you鈥檙e feeling spendy, the elegant Westin Monache Resort (from $241). Alternatively, post up at the Forest Service campgrounds (from $28), usually open May through October and abutting phenomenal trails to Shadow Lake and equestrian-friendly Agnew Meadows.

Don鈥檛 miss: Go for the cheap and fantastic monster burritos at Latin Market Taqueria in Mammoth Lakes. 鈥�Emily Pennington

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