America's Parks Are Broke, And It's Costing Us More Than Money

National parks welcome 325 million visitors a year and generate over $55 billion in economic output. So why are they running on empty?

The Staffing Crisis Is Real

In early 2025, the Trump administration cut over 4,000 National Park Service jobs, rangers, seasonal staff, and specialists alike. The consequences are immediate: reduced visitor safety, closed programs, and mounting maintenance backlogs.

I saw this firsthand during my summer at Valley Forge National Historical Park. Our Natural Resource Management team, just eight or nine people, was responsible for 3,500 acres of ecological monitoring, invasive species management, and habitat restoration. The workload was simply impossible to meet.

What Gets Lost

When parks are understaffed, design and long-term planning are the first casualties. There's no capacity for intentional stewardship when teams are in constant triage mode.

Government shutdowns make it worse. During the 2019 shutdown, parks suffered vandalism, sanitation failures, and cultural site destruction, damage that took years to address. The National Parks Conservation Association estimates the most recent shutdown alone cost parks $40 million in lost fees.

Parks generate enormous value for this country. It's time funding reflected that.

Sources: Boyette, Jake. The Tacoma Ledger (2025); NPCA (2025)