GREAT SAND DUNES — Among the thousands of supporters of the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service gathered across the country on Saturday, were about 60 people gathered at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. They assembled to protest recent firings of park and forest service employees.  

Supporters also expressed the effects these job cuts will have on national parks natural and cultural resources and conveyed their gratitude and "deep appreciation to all of the dedicated employees who protect our national gems," said one protester. 

The pro-park supporters were at the park entrance, in front of the visitor center, and at the dunes parking lot with signs that read, "Public lands, make America Great," "Protest Public Lands, Reinstate Federal Employees," "We love Our Parks and Rangers,” and “Stop The Slashing," "Defend America's Best Idea." The last sign was a nod to historian and writer Wallace Stegner, who called national parks, "the best idea America ever had, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best, rather than our worst."  

Bill Wren, Association of National Park Rangers, told the Valley Courier that his sources tell him that at least two employees at Great Sand Dunes have been fired.  

"Now we know that seasonal hiring is not frozen and up to 7,000 will be hired, but parks that want to hire seasonal will have to get approval for each position all the way up to the Washington office. When you think about trying to put 7,000 people on duty, the onboarding and human resources and all that has to be done and have all of that approved before any of that process even starts. We know that hiring seasonal employees takes a long time anyway. There is no real way they will get enough people hired by the start of the heavy-use summer season," said Wren.  

At the entrance to the park was Mark Seaton, a retired employee of Great sand Dunes who said, "I am concerned about this administration's agenda for public lands; I feel like they are in danger from the recent events." Suzanne De Vore said, "I am here to support the Great Sand Dunes, the rangers, and all the people who work here. This is a big part of the San Luis Valley, living here I think we all feel ownership and dedication and we need to keep it open.” 

Stephen Bruckbauer, who was visiting the park from Massachusetts and supporting the pro-park demonstrators, said, "Our park service and all of this wildlife and wilderness is something that is so unique about America and so special. It hurts my heart to see funding cuts and all these people laid off. This is a labor of love; working here is not a way to get rich. We need to support and protect this." 

Park supporter Lou Bean of Salida said, "Our parks are important for all of the different things that they protect within the park, and they don't exist in a vacuum. “The presence of this park in his Valley supports our water supply, watersheds, air quality, beautiful dark skies, and habitat connectivity. The park protects our cultural heritage, both of the native populations and the people who have populated the Valley over the last hundreds of years. 

"This park represents what this Valley is all about. It is important that we continue to support the people who protect it and ensure that it is here for generations to come." 

"I'm here because the national parks bring in revenue and business to local towns and we need to support that. As grant funding becomes smaller and smaller, things like doing fire mitigation work will become more difficult as we do less fire mitigation, more wildfires will happen, and more homes will burn. Everything is connected and protecting resources is a good idea,” said Brady Spaulding of Salida.  

According to the NPS, in 2023, 325 million park visitors spent an estimated $26.4 billion in local gateway regions while visiting National Park Service lands across the country. These expenditures supported 415 thousand jobs, $19.4 billion in labor income, $32.0 billion in value added, and $55.6 billion in economic output in the national economy. According to the park service, in 2006, there were 258,660 visitors to Great Sand Dunes. That number has more than doubled to 512,219 visitors in 2023.  

Tracy Coppola with the National Parks Conservation Association said in an interview with the Valley Courier, "There are 1,700 jobs lost in the NPS due to the administrative action. These include the firings of probationary staff, and we have heard 700 people have accepted the buyout in the park service. 

"With the seasonal employees, the administration imposed a freeze on the seasonal workforce and then having the administration go back and reinstate that, we are still trying to figure out which jobs were lost, and what employees are just not coming back with the culture of extreme fear that has been created system-wide. We need to see if people may rethink whether they want a park service career. This is a devastating reality that we are going to be facing." 

Under a directive from Washington, about 20% of the Rio Grande National Forest employees were recently fired. One of those employees worked on trail maintenance out of the Saguache Ranger District.  

The Forest Service has identified 15 priority areas across the nation for increased trail maintenance, including "Colorado Fourteeners," on six Colorado forests, including the Rio Grande National Forest and the San Juan National Forest. The trails include those in fragile high-alpine ecosystems.  

The Forest Service has been directed to fire over 3,400 employees nationwide. 

Requests for comment from the NPS and USFS were referred to Washington, a reply was not received before press time.