The National Park Service’s (NPS’s) news page has been eerily quiet since Inauguration Day, despite being in the news quite a bit. Reports suggest that the Trump administration has cut hundreds of jobs (some say around 1,000 jobs) from the park service, and now, former NPS employees are starting to speak out about how the job cuts might impact parks’ ability to function as many of them ramp up for their busy visitation season.
“Today I lost my dream job as a permanent park ranger in the NPS,” wrote the former ranger who goes by Alex Wild on Instagram. “I’m still in shock, and completely devastated. I have dedicated my life to being a public servant, teacher, and advocate for places that we ALL cherish. I have saved lives and put my own life at risk to serve my community. And today, without any warning, I got a termination email stating:
‘The Department determined that you have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because your subject matter knowledge, skills, and abilities do not meet the Department’s current needs, and it is necessary and appropriate to terminate, during the probationary period, your appointment to the position of Park Ranger.’
This is the biggest slap in the face imaginable.”
He continues, saying that he believes the decision has “nothing to do with performance or the needs of the department,” and that his supervisors have made it clear that he was “a valued and essential part of the team.” The former ranger goes on the explain that he was the only EMT at his park, and that cutting his position was “flat-out reckless.”
See Alex Wild’s full post and several other public social-media posts made by people impacted by NPS job cuts here: