Aleksander Chmura, a custodial worker at Yosemite National Park, never expected his dream job to end so abruptly. On February 14, 2025, he became one of the 1,000 National Park Service (NPS) probationary employees terminated without warning despite having received an “exceeds expectations” rating in his last performance evaluation in October of last year.
The public outcry about job cuts at the National Park Service filled online media posts.
“Friday, at 4:22 pm, I received a termination notice from the deputy director, Lena McDowell, whom I’ve never met in my life,” Chmura said. “And I was really just floored. I really felt like my world was taken out from underneath my feet.”
The mass staffing cuts, part of a broader government initiative to cut federal bureaucracy and spending, have sparked a national outcry online. Conservationists, outdoor enthusiasts, and former rangers want the consequences of these layoffs to extend beyond the livelihoods of those let go. They threaten the future of America’s national parks.
For Chmura, the impact is deeply personal.
“It’s honestly really traumatic, because I don’t make that much money to begin with,” he said. “You know, I’m essentially homeless, living on my truck, serving the American people, and I’ve cried more than I have ever in my entire life for 24 hours.”
Beyond Yosemite, he fears the staffing cuts could endanger public safety.
The cuts have rippled across the country. Around this time of year, Yellowstone typically hires 350 seasonal workers and Grand Teton brings on as many as 500. Now, even essential positions— like Yelowstone’s only locksmith— have been eliminated.
For Jennifer Quintero, an Everglades fellow with the National Parks Conservation Association, the layoffs represent more than just lost jobs.
“It’s really unfortunate because, you know, it’s not like the work that they do is easy,” Quintero said. “But they still do it with a lot of love, and everybody’s going to suffer as a result.”
In South Florida, conservationists are sounding the alarm about potential long-term damage to the Everglades if these cuts continue to widen.
“We’re asking them to not only be educators, but also to assist with medical needs when necessary, and work with children and also clean the facilities and also manage the trails,” said Cara Capp, Greater Everglades associate director. “And so we’re asking people to do more and more with less and less.”
Without staff to guide visitors and enforce protections, the risk of environmental harm increases.
“These federal hiring and employment changes that are coming affect our ability to protect and restore the Everglades,” Capp said. “There’s a complete misalignment with the values of Floridians and how we see the Everglades as integral to our life here.”
Many affected employees, including Chmura, are taking legal action. Five nationwide unions representing federal employees have filed lawsuits in U.S District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the mass firing violates laws governing large-scale federal workforce reductions.
