USA — According to a statement from the Association of National Park Rangers, Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s Secretarial Order says, “This Order is intended to ensure that all national parks and national historic sites, which are managed by the Department of the Interior (Department), remain open and accessible for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people and to ensure that the National Park Service (NPS) will provide the best customer service experience for all visitors.” 

The Order continues, “The NPS Director will ensure that all park units remain open and accessible to the American public during the specified hours of operation posted on the respective park units' public webpages at https://www.nps.gov/findapark/. 

“To ensure visitor access and satisfaction, any closures or reductions to operating hours, seasons, or any visitor services (including trails and campgrounds), in whole or in part, must be reviewed by the NPS Director and the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks prior to any reduction action by the individual park units.” 

Rick Mossman, President of the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR) questioned how the national parks are supposed to comply with this order, given the current hiring freeze and the recent staffing reductions from firings or retirement buyouts. “The NPS has lost somewhere near 1500 permanent employees since the beginning of this year,” Mossman said, “and the National Park Service is bracing for another reduction in force expected in the very near future.” 

The Order requires review of hours of operation and proposed closures by Department officials and a “report on the operational status of each park unit...within 15 days of issuance of this Order, and every quarter thereafter.” 

Bill Wade, Executive Director of ANPR referred to another statement in the Order that says, “The Department shall take action to ensure that NPS is properly staffed to support the operating hours and needs of each park unit.” Wade said, “We wonder what this will mean. What will the Department do to support the NPS staffing deficiencies that exist and have existed for many years?” 

“We hope this means that park visitors will no longer experience some of the impacts from limited staffing that have been recently reported. However, we still suggest that visitors plan ahead and make every effort to determine what they can expect when they get to the parks, so they won’t be surprised or disappointed,” Mossman said.