About 4 million people visit Yosemite each year.
Travelers bound for California’s Yosemite National Park could find more than scenic vistas and tranquil wildlife viewing this summer. An investigative report by SF Gate published Wednesday found that the park is likely headed for a chaotic summer season resulting from administrative failures by the federal agencies that oversee the operation of the park.
The first problem facing the park is staffing. A major national parks watchdog group has already warned of large-scale challenges for the entire national park system, but the SF Gate’s report specifically calls out the rescinding of seasonal job offers for a number of seasonal workers who were already deep into the hiring process for the upcoming summer. Those workers were originally meant to be exempt from the cuts, but no action was taken to correct the rescissions, leaving staffing for seasonal rangers and fee collectors in limbo.
Resignation offers, sent January 28, along with more job offer recissions sent February 6–again to workers who were not supposed to be included in workforce reductions–further muddied the waters. The February 6 round of recissions was also sent to public safety workers such as law enforcement rangers, wildland firefighters, and EMTs. Some of those job offers have since been reinstated, but it’s unclear how many.
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A former park superintendent referenced in the report noted that the park typically hires up to 400 seasonal workers who are onboarded in February and March, but this year park administrators are facing a summer season where it’s unclear how many staffers they’ll have to maintain the parks, or if all of the staffers currently planning to take up positions in the park will wait around for clarity on whether they will in fact be needed.
What is clear is that Yosemite, and other national parks, will likely find themselves even more understaffed this summer than in previous years.
To compound matters, the report mentions that plans by park officials to announce a permanent reservation system to control daily visitor numbers is on hold while the plan is under review by the newly appointed cabinet. The reservations system had been piloted over the past five years to help limit visitation to what park facilities—ranging from parking to restrooms facilities to trails and campsites—could actually handle.
Park rangers and other administrative staff are needed to monitor visitor behavior and enforce park rules on pets, handling of trash, and off-limits trails and sensitive areas. Without enough of those workers, trash piles up, restrooms back up and overflow, and wildlife are impacted when their habitats become overrun with human waste.
Travelers wanting to make park entrance reservations for Yosemite this summer should the park website after 26, when park officials anticipate being able to share more details about the plans for the reservation system in 2025. The park service noted that many visitors’ plans are incumbent on whether or not they will be able to reserve spots for guaranteed entry to the park.
Visitors may also wish to purchase travel insurance that allows them to cancel for any reason if they are purchasing nonrefundable tours or accommodations that they may not be able to use if they’re unable to secure park entry in advance. Alternately, visitors may wish to limit their advance reservations to those they can secure refunds for if they’re unable to enter the park, but this can oftentimes increase costs.
The latest updates on access and availability for Yosemite and any other National Parks across the country can be found on the National Park Service website.
