The National Park Service reported a record-setting 331,863,358 visits in 2024, amid a recent 9% cut to the National Park Service workforce and continued uncertainty. The previous record was set in 2016 with 330,971,689 recreation visits. The National Parks Conservation Association said it found this robust visitation to be at odds with the ongoing dismantling of America’s park legacy.
In addition to eliminating 1,000 probationary staff, freezing vacant permanent positions and delaying the hiring of seasonal employees, the administration has also called for canceling 34 Park Service building leases that house visitor centers, law enforcement offices, museums and hubs for critical programs, including Klondike Gold Rush Historical Site in downtown Seattle and the San Antonio Missions law enforcement facility.
9 visitor centers and visitor contact stations are slated for lease cancellations including:
- Morris Thompson Visitor Center, Fairbanks, Alaska, Dunkle St.
- Little River Canyon Center, Alabama, Alabama Hwy
- Southern Arizona office, Arizona, N Central Ave
- New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park Visitor Center, Louisiana, N Peters St
- Mississippi National River, Minnesota, Kellogg Blvd
- Niobrara National Scenic River Visitor Center, Nebraska, W Highway 20
- Salinas Pueblo Missions, New Mexico, Ripley Ave
- Missouri National Recreational River Visitor Center, South Dakota, 508 East 2nd Street
- Klondike Gold Rush, Washington, 2nd Ave S
Even before the staff cuts and resignation of dedicated park employees under duress over the last several weeks, the National Park Service struggled with rising visitation and shrinking budgets due to years of inadequate funding by Congress.
“The 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. It’s a slap in the face to the hundreds of millions of people who explored our parks last year and want to keep going back. Americans love their national parks; these cuts do not have public support,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association.
“As 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. If building leases are cancelled, it will make these problems worse.
“Our national parks are beloved and storied places that also support made-in-America jobs and serve as the beating, thriving heart of local and statewide tourism economies. Every dollar invested in our national parks provides at least a $15 return on investment. However, devastating mass firings on top of a hiring freeze on vacant positions, the delay of seasonal staff hiring, and the resignation of hundreds of park employees under duress have now been accompanied by the planned termination of park building leases. Together, this threatens to put that beating heart on life support,” Brengel said.
