A coalition of former National Park superintendents are sounding the alarm over another rumored staff shake-up at beloved parks downsized by at least a quarter since last year.
In a letter Tuesday to Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum, 20 former superintendents warned that the Park Service overseeing more than 400 parks and monuments is already in crisis.
The re-assignment of 30 senior staff last month, first reported by the online news outlet NOTUS, removed a cadre of seasoned employees. Now, a hasty summons to all park superintendents to gather at regional meetings later this month is raising worries that additional moves are in store.
”Summoning all park superintendents is very unusual,” said Emily Thompson, a former park worker and executive director of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, which organized the letter and represents more than 5,000 retired park service employees and volunteers.
READ MORE: 'People are frightened': Sweeping Trump job cuts hit South Florida national parks
“I don't even know the last time when all park superintendents were expected to show up at places in-person, en masse,” she said. “But these former superintendents who dedicated their careers…to helping protect and serve America's national parks, they're concerned.”
A spokesperson for South Florida’s national parks referred questions to the Park Service’s national office. The national office did not reply to WLRN requests or a follow-up email.
When the Trump administration created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in 2025, the park service was among the federal agencies hit hardest. Rangers as well as experienced scientists, IT technicians and other staff were fired or enticed to retire. While some positions were refilled, current and former staff have said operations suffered.
"When you're down a quarter of your permanent workforce within the last year and your staff is already stretched to capacity and you're missing some critical folks, any additional changes that could further stretch the ability of national park employees to do their work and uphold the mission is concerning,” Thompson said.
The cuts came even as post-Covid attendance has remained high, meaning more work for staff cleaning bathrooms and collecting trash, along with maintaining trails and providing tours or educational services.
Parks have also been hit with orders to remove exhibits or strip references to historical events or climate change. Endangered species that inhabit parks have also had protections weakened. And a mounting maintenance backlog for parks nationwide has ballooned from $20 million to $35 million in the last five years.
While it’s unclear what the meetings will cover, Thompson said superintendents worry there will be a move to consolidate parks or shift duties to headquarters.
”Parks are intrinsic and work within local communities.” she said. “They're different, and you can't manage them as one big standardized unit.”
In South Florida, Everglades and Biscayne Bay national parks, along with the Big Cypress National Preserve have all played critical roles in how lands are managed inside and outside of their boundaries. Everglades National Park helped propel a decades-long environmental restoration effort that stretches across South Florida to Lake Okeechobee. Biscayne National Park has played a critical role in water quality baywide.
”These former superintendents who signed this letter, they're not opposed to change,” Thompson said. “They've all had to adapt to change. But a reorganization that is not well-planned, that results in staff losses or further loss of capacity or results in even less decision-making at a local level and further jeopardizes community engagement, that's concerning.”
The letter was signed by superintendents who managed parks across the U.S., including Yosemite, Grand Canyon, New York Harbor, Glacier and Harper’s Ferry.
“There is a fundamental difference,” they wrote, “between reforming an organization and dismantling it.”
