Most national parks across the country will remain open with skeleton staffing during the government shutdown, according to a plan released by the Interior Department late Tuesday night. The decision comes after more than 40 former superintendents asked (see signed letter below from these Superintendents) last week that parks be closed during a shutdown to protect natural resources.
The shutdown plan contains some conflicting information about emergency services, such as search and rescue operations, that people may depend on when visiting national parks. The document states that activities considered necessary to “protect life and property” will continue, including law enforcement and emergency response, fighting wildfires and the protection of federal property. But the plan also states that “emergency services will be limited” and directs park websites and social media accounts to communicate that.
Park roads and trails will remain open, but visitor services will be severely curtailed. Visitor centers will be closed. According to the National Parks Conservation Association, some superintendents are planning to keep restrooms open, for now. While entrance station gates will be open, there may be no one there to collect fees or answer questions. No new permits for things like backcountry campsites will be issued.
Parks are already operating with 24% fewer permanent staff members than before the Trump administration began. Of the approximately 15,000 remaining agency employees, almost two thirds, or 9,300 workers, will be furloughed.
Park advocacy groups decried the move as putting cherished places and millions of visitors at risk. “Visitors may enter, but very few staff will be there to protect the parks or the people inside,” said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO for National Parks Conservation Association, in a statement. “It’s not just irresponsible, it’s dangerous.”
“We don’t leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers and we should not leave our National Parks open without NPS employees,” said Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, in a news release.
Staff performing critical roles during the shutdown are excepted from being furloughed. Staffing varies dramatically among national park sites, so the number of employees who will continue to work without pay will vary, too. (Those workers would receive back pay after the shutdown concludes.)
“Excepted staffing will be held to the amount needed for the protection of life, property, and public health and safety, and will be based on the assumption that the NPS is conducting no park operations and providing no visitor services,” the shutdown plan reads.
Power rests with Kevin Lilly, the acting assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, to decide what activities will be allowed during the shutdown — including activities by commercial companies and concessionaires that operate in parks to offer guided trips and other services. Lilly was recently appointed to his role in the Interior Department and has no conservation or public lands management experience. Lilly can also decide if parks can close certain areas with sensitive natural, cultural, historic or archaeological resources that may be destroyed or looted.
Park resources were vandalized and destroyed while parks remained open during the 35-day federal government shutdown in 2018-2019. Some of California’s national parks were especially hard hit.
In Joshua Tree National Park, vandals cut down slow-growing Joshua trees and illegally carved two new unauthorized roads with offroad vehicles, including through wilderness areas. Chains and locks were cut to access closed campgrounds, and people camped in out-of-bounds areas. In Yosemite National Park, John Muir and Nevada Fall trails were closed due to human waste while dogs ran around in wildlife-rich areas off leash. Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks eventually closed due to sanitation issues, while petroglyphs were vandalized at Big Bend National Park in Texas.
Trash removal remains a concern if people continue visiting parks without adequate staffing. The Interior Department says it plans to use recreation fees to provide some visitor services like trash collection and restroom maintenance. (This approach was deemed illegal by the Government Accountability Office in the wake of the shutdown in 2019.)
But if only law enforcement personnel remain, it’s unclear who would be doing those tasks. If garbage builds up to a point where it threatens human health or attracts wildlife, the area should be closed, the plan states.
During previous shutdowns, volunteer organizations have stepped in to haul trash, shovel snow and clean restrooms. And while states, local governments, tribes and third parties can donate money to fund park operations and park staff, the National Park Service has said in its contingency plan that it will not reimburse them.
==================================================================
40 SUPERINTENDENTS LETTER to DOUG BURGUM
Letter, National Park Management, Secretary of the Interior, Shutdown, Statement
September 25, 2025
The Honorable Doug Burgum
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington D.C., 20240
Dear Secretary Burgum:
As former superintendents of national parks across the country, we write to you with an urgent appeal to protect our parks and public lands by closing them if a government shutdown occurs.
Past shutdowns in which gates remained open with limited staff have hurt our parks: Iconic symbols cut down and vandalized, trash piled up, habitats destroyed, and visitor safety jeopardized. If you don’t act now, history is not just doomed to repeat itself, the damage could in fact be much worse.
This summer, our parks were pushed to the brink by budget cuts and staff reductions. A recent New York Times report found that at least 90 parks are already facing serious strain in an effort to comply with the directive in Secretarial Order 3426 that parks remain open and accessible to the public, despite huge reductions in the workforce.
If national parks are to be open to visitors when National Park employees are furloughed, these nascent issues from the summer season are sure to erupt. Leaving parks even partially open to the public during a shutdown with minimal—or no—park staffing is reckless and puts both visitors and park resources at risk.
National parks don’t run themselves. It is hardworking National Park Service employees that keep them safe, clean, and accessible. Park staff manage everything from routine maintenance of buildings and trails to educational programs that teach visitors how to safely and attentively engage with nature to guided tours that share the stories of our collective history. National Park Service employees study, monitor, and learn from our natural world through long term projects and research – and these projects, in addition to irreplaceable resources and habitat, are in jeopardy during a shutdown.
Americans across the country and across the political spectrum cherish our national parks and public lands. They conserve our most special sites so that everyone can hike, swim, hunt, fish, learn, and seek solace in nature. With their future already under threat, now is not the time to use the parks and public lands as pawns in political games.
As stewards of these American treasures, we urge you to prioritize both conservation and visitor safety and protect our national parks during a potential shutdown, and into the future. If sufficient staff aren’t there, visitors shouldn’t be either.
The undersigned,
Paul R. Anderson
Retired Superintendent, Denali National Park and Preserve
Robert Arnberger
Retired Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park
Wendy M. Berhman
Retired Superintendent, Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Marcia Blaszak
Retired Superintendent, Regional Director, Alaska
Maria Burks
Retired Superintendent, Cape Cod National Seashore
Mark Butler
Retired Superintendent, Joshua Tree National Park
Anne Castellina
Retired Superintendent, Kenai Fjords National Park
James Coleman Jr.
Retired Superintendent, Olympic National Park
Michael Creasey
Retired Superintendent, National Parks of Boston
Charles “Butch” Farabee
Retired Superintendent, Padre Island National Seashore & Glacier National Park (Acting)
Fred J. Fagergren
Retired Superintendent, Bryce Canyon National Park
Mike Finley
Retired Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park
Maureen Finnerty
Retired Superintendent, Everglades National Park
Phil Francis
Retired Superintendent, Blue Ridge Parkway
Susan L. Fritzke
Retired Superintendent, Capitol Reef National Park
Denis Galvin
Retired Superintendent, WASO
Russell Galipeau
Retired Superintendent, Channel Islands National Park
B. J. Griffin
Retired Superintendent, Presidio of San Francisco
Rebecca Harriett
Retired Superintendent, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Jonathan B. Jarvis
Retired Superintendent, 18th Director of the National Park Service
Bob Krumenaker
Retired Superintendent, Big Bend National Park
Elaine F. Leslie
Retired Superintendent, Colonial NHP/BRD
Deb Liggett
Retired Superintendent, Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks and Preserves
Richard Martin
Retired Superintendent, Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs; Death Valley NP; Wrangell–St. Elias NP & Preserve
Linda Mazzu
Retired Superintendent, Bryce Canyon National Park
Douglas Morris
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Jeff Mow
Retired Superintendent, Glacier National Park
Michael B. Murray
Retired Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, NC
Don Neubacher
Retired Superintendent, Yosemite National Park
Jim Northup
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Jim Pepper
Retired Superintendent, Federal Hall NM; Castle Clinton NM; Theodore Roosevelt NHS; General Grant NM
Bob Reynolds
Retired Superintendent, Cape Hatteras Group (Cape Hatteras NS, Fort Raleigh NHS, Wright Brothers NM)
John Reynolds
Retired Superintendent, Pacific Northwest Regional Director
Cheryl Schreier
Retired Superintendent, Mount Rushmore National Memorial
K. Christopher Soller
Retired Superintendent, Fire Island National Seashore
Sheridan Steele
Retired Superintendent, Acadia National Park
Dale Thompson
Retired Superintendent, Coronado National Memorial
Michael Tollefson
Retired Superintendent, Yosemite National Park
Tom Vaughan
Retired Superintendent, Chaco Culture National Historical Park
J. W. Wade
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Karen Wade
Retired Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Thomas Workman
Retired Superintendent, Cabrillo National Monument
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE IN THE SF CHRONICLE
The shutdown plan contains some conflicting information about emergency services, such as search and rescue operations, that people may depend on when visiting national parks. The document states that activities considered necessary to “protect life and property” will continue, including law enforcement and emergency response, fighting wildfires and the protection of federal property. But the plan also states that “emergency services will be limited” and directs park websites and social media accounts to communicate that.
Park roads and trails will remain open, but visitor services will be severely curtailed. Visitor centers will be closed. According to the National Parks Conservation Association, some superintendents are planning to keep restrooms open, for now. While entrance station gates will be open, there may be no one there to collect fees or answer questions. No new permits for things like backcountry campsites will be issued.
Parks are already operating with 24% fewer permanent staff members than before the Trump administration began. Of the approximately 15,000 remaining agency employees, almost two thirds, or 9,300 workers, will be furloughed.
Park advocacy groups decried the move as putting cherished places and millions of visitors at risk. “Visitors may enter, but very few staff will be there to protect the parks or the people inside,” said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO for National Parks Conservation Association, in a statement. “It’s not just irresponsible, it’s dangerous.”
“We don’t leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers and we should not leave our National Parks open without NPS employees,” said Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, in a news release.
Staff performing critical roles during the shutdown are excepted from being furloughed. Staffing varies dramatically among national park sites, so the number of employees who will continue to work without pay will vary, too. (Those workers would receive back pay after the shutdown concludes.)
“Excepted staffing will be held to the amount needed for the protection of life, property, and public health and safety, and will be based on the assumption that the NPS is conducting no park operations and providing no visitor services,” the shutdown plan reads.
Power rests with Kevin Lilly, the acting assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, to decide what activities will be allowed during the shutdown — including activities by commercial companies and concessionaires that operate in parks to offer guided trips and other services. Lilly was recently appointed to his role in the Interior Department and has no conservation or public lands management experience. Lilly can also decide if parks can close certain areas with sensitive natural, cultural, historic or archaeological resources that may be destroyed or looted.
Park resources were vandalized and destroyed while parks remained open during the 35-day federal government shutdown in 2018-2019. Some of California’s national parks were especially hard hit.
In Joshua Tree National Park, vandals cut down slow-growing Joshua trees and illegally carved two new unauthorized roads with offroad vehicles, including through wilderness areas. Chains and locks were cut to access closed campgrounds, and people camped in out-of-bounds areas. In Yosemite National Park, John Muir and Nevada Fall trails were closed due to human waste while dogs ran around in wildlife-rich areas off leash. Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks eventually closed due to sanitation issues, while petroglyphs were vandalized at Big Bend National Park in Texas.
Trash removal remains a concern if people continue visiting parks without adequate staffing. The Interior Department says it plans to use recreation fees to provide some visitor services like trash collection and restroom maintenance. (This approach was deemed illegal by the Government Accountability Office in the wake of the shutdown in 2019.)
But if only law enforcement personnel remain, it’s unclear who would be doing those tasks. If garbage builds up to a point where it threatens human health or attracts wildlife, the area should be closed, the plan states.
During previous shutdowns, volunteer organizations have stepped in to haul trash, shovel snow and clean restrooms. And while states, local governments, tribes and third parties can donate money to fund park operations and park staff, the National Park Service has said in its contingency plan that it will not reimburse them.
==================================================================
40 SUPERINTENDENTS LETTER to DOUG BURGUM
Letter, National Park Management, Secretary of the Interior, Shutdown, Statement
September 25, 2025
The Honorable Doug Burgum
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington D.C., 20240
Dear Secretary Burgum:
As former superintendents of national parks across the country, we write to you with an urgent appeal to protect our parks and public lands by closing them if a government shutdown occurs.
Past shutdowns in which gates remained open with limited staff have hurt our parks: Iconic symbols cut down and vandalized, trash piled up, habitats destroyed, and visitor safety jeopardized. If you don’t act now, history is not just doomed to repeat itself, the damage could in fact be much worse.
This summer, our parks were pushed to the brink by budget cuts and staff reductions. A recent New York Times report found that at least 90 parks are already facing serious strain in an effort to comply with the directive in Secretarial Order 3426 that parks remain open and accessible to the public, despite huge reductions in the workforce.
If national parks are to be open to visitors when National Park employees are furloughed, these nascent issues from the summer season are sure to erupt. Leaving parks even partially open to the public during a shutdown with minimal—or no—park staffing is reckless and puts both visitors and park resources at risk.
National parks don’t run themselves. It is hardworking National Park Service employees that keep them safe, clean, and accessible. Park staff manage everything from routine maintenance of buildings and trails to educational programs that teach visitors how to safely and attentively engage with nature to guided tours that share the stories of our collective history. National Park Service employees study, monitor, and learn from our natural world through long term projects and research – and these projects, in addition to irreplaceable resources and habitat, are in jeopardy during a shutdown.
Americans across the country and across the political spectrum cherish our national parks and public lands. They conserve our most special sites so that everyone can hike, swim, hunt, fish, learn, and seek solace in nature. With their future already under threat, now is not the time to use the parks and public lands as pawns in political games.
As stewards of these American treasures, we urge you to prioritize both conservation and visitor safety and protect our national parks during a potential shutdown, and into the future. If sufficient staff aren’t there, visitors shouldn’t be either.
The undersigned,
Paul R. Anderson
Retired Superintendent, Denali National Park and Preserve
Robert Arnberger
Retired Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park
Wendy M. Berhman
Retired Superintendent, Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Marcia Blaszak
Retired Superintendent, Regional Director, Alaska
Maria Burks
Retired Superintendent, Cape Cod National Seashore
Mark Butler
Retired Superintendent, Joshua Tree National Park
Anne Castellina
Retired Superintendent, Kenai Fjords National Park
James Coleman Jr.
Retired Superintendent, Olympic National Park
Michael Creasey
Retired Superintendent, National Parks of Boston
Charles “Butch” Farabee
Retired Superintendent, Padre Island National Seashore & Glacier National Park (Acting)
Fred J. Fagergren
Retired Superintendent, Bryce Canyon National Park
Mike Finley
Retired Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park
Maureen Finnerty
Retired Superintendent, Everglades National Park
Phil Francis
Retired Superintendent, Blue Ridge Parkway
Susan L. Fritzke
Retired Superintendent, Capitol Reef National Park
Denis Galvin
Retired Superintendent, WASO
Russell Galipeau
Retired Superintendent, Channel Islands National Park
B. J. Griffin
Retired Superintendent, Presidio of San Francisco
Rebecca Harriett
Retired Superintendent, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Jonathan B. Jarvis
Retired Superintendent, 18th Director of the National Park Service
Bob Krumenaker
Retired Superintendent, Big Bend National Park
Elaine F. Leslie
Retired Superintendent, Colonial NHP/BRD
Deb Liggett
Retired Superintendent, Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks and Preserves
Richard Martin
Retired Superintendent, Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs; Death Valley NP; Wrangell–St. Elias NP & Preserve
Linda Mazzu
Retired Superintendent, Bryce Canyon National Park
Douglas Morris
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Jeff Mow
Retired Superintendent, Glacier National Park
Michael B. Murray
Retired Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, NC
Don Neubacher
Retired Superintendent, Yosemite National Park
Jim Northup
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Jim Pepper
Retired Superintendent, Federal Hall NM; Castle Clinton NM; Theodore Roosevelt NHS; General Grant NM
Bob Reynolds
Retired Superintendent, Cape Hatteras Group (Cape Hatteras NS, Fort Raleigh NHS, Wright Brothers NM)
John Reynolds
Retired Superintendent, Pacific Northwest Regional Director
Cheryl Schreier
Retired Superintendent, Mount Rushmore National Memorial
K. Christopher Soller
Retired Superintendent, Fire Island National Seashore
Sheridan Steele
Retired Superintendent, Acadia National Park
Dale Thompson
Retired Superintendent, Coronado National Memorial
Michael Tollefson
Retired Superintendent, Yosemite National Park
Tom Vaughan
Retired Superintendent, Chaco Culture National Historical Park
J. W. Wade
Retired Superintendent, Shenandoah National Park
Karen Wade
Retired Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Thomas Workman
Retired Superintendent, Cabrillo National Monument
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE IN THE SF CHRONICLE
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