Roll Call References SEEC Institute Parks Report in Coverage of Climate Impacts and Staffing Cuts
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…"After the Supreme Court this month lifted a lower court injunction blocking the president’s orders for deep cuts in the federal workforce, the coalition, the NPCA and two other groups — the Association of National Park Rangers and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility — released an analysis of staffing cuts so far at the Park Service.
Among the findings: All 13 lifeguard positions are vacant at the Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia, and three units of the national parks in Boston, which are hosting events celebrating “America 250” all year, have more than 50 vacancies, including a superintendent, deputy superintendent, interpretive park rangers and a museum curator.
“One of our fundamental missions is to protect and conserve the natural and cultural resources and the wildlife therein,” said Francis. “But you know, when we cut staff sort of arbitrarily, and the staff is being cut by people who really have never worked in a park, it sounds to me like we’ve got a conflict in missions and roles. On one hand, we’re supposed to do everything we can to serve the public and protect the resources. On the other hand, the Congress is taking that ability away, and that’s going to have a big impact on communities.”
Meanwhile, the costs to rebuild the 98-year-old Grand Canyon Lodge and dozens of surrounding structures, including a visitor center and Park Service offices and housing, burned in the still-raging Dragon Bravo Fire in Arizona is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, adding to an enormous backlog of maintenance needs in the park system.
The destruction is just another example of the effects of climate change on the national parks, said Francis, whose coalition along with the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Institute issued a report last week describing some of those impacts.
“From coastal erosion in Acadia and the Everglades to ecosystem collapse in Yellowstone and increasingly intense wildfires in Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, and Shenandoah, the climate crisis is leaving no place untouched,” the groups said in a news release about the report.”