National Park Service employees at Yosemite laid off amid government cuts

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (KFSN) -- Employees at Yosemite National Park are expressing their confusion and concern.

"I just got an email saying that I was terminated all of a sudden, and that's what happened to a bunch of people this week. It was pretty shocking. We didn't see it coming at all," an anonymous employee tells Action News.

That's the reality for a number of permanent positions and seasonal employees who learned their job offers were rescinded or that jobs are no longer available.

"I had been working in Yosemite National Park seasonally since 2019, and I was working for Aramark, the concessionaire, and I finally made the jump over last year to National Park Service and it just felt like, I finally felt fulfilled doing. I felt happy to go to work, excited to be a part of the park system and it's just kind of unfortunate in this situation," said another anonymous employee.

The Trump administration has fired about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees whose roles include cleaning and maintaining parks, and educating visitors.

It's part of the President's promise to cut costs and analyze government efficiency.

Ken Yager has lived in Mariposa County for nearly 50 years and worries about the long-term impact of the eliminated jobs.

"These people don't have anywhere to live right now, they have no income. Some of these people, it's questionable if they are even going to get unemployment to hold them over until they can find another job and find housing," said President of Yosemite Climbing Association, Ken Yager.

People are also worried that a lack of staffing to handle millions of tourists in Yosemite each year could have harmful effects on wildlife.

"I'm befuddled, but I'm also really angry because once a bear dies because we don't have enough people to manage the trash. Once a bear is hit by a car because of overcrowding," said Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, Beth Pratt.

Pratt says she believes protecting the sights and sounds of natural wonders like Yosemite should be bipartisan.

"Why are we messing with one thing that most of us agree on in a time when we agree on little, that our parks are special and should not be put at risk," said Pratt.

ABC News has contacted the Department of Interior and the National Park Service but has not received a comment on this issue.

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