- Over 30 National Park Service rents can be canceled, said the NPCA advocacy group.
- The NPCA said the cancellation of rents could affect the experiences and security of visitors.
- Possible lease conclusions are part of the Trump administration push for expense cuts.
More than 30 for rent that House National Park service operations – from visitors to law enforcement and research and rescue facilities – are in the fragmentation block, according to an analysis by the National Park Conservation Association, or NPCA.
The NPCA, a nonprofit that protects for national parks, compiled a list of rents that are intended for completion by the Trump administration. If approved, the conclusions would take effect at different times this year or other depending on the locations, according to the list.
“Anyone who is making these decisions is not making them in the best interest of the Park service or Park visitors,” Kristen concern, a senior Vice President of Government Affairs in the NPCA, told Business Insider. “Of course, you can save money, but at the expense of public safety.”
Possible cancellations are part of the Trump administration push for efficiency and reduction of expenditure throughout the federal government, which has included mass fires as well as rental conclusions from various agencies.
Park lawyers and employees have already expressed concern about staff abbreviations-around 1,000 NPS employees were believed to have been fired last month while an additional 700-plus chose in the driven resignation program, according to an internal Memorandum viewed by BI. They said staff cuts would make the parks less secure and less pleasant to visitors. The NPCA said the cancellation of these rents would have a similar effect.
“The internal department and its offices are committed to supporting federal responsibilities for communities and tribes,” a spokesman for the internal department, which includes the NPS, BI said, adding that the department is working with the possibility of general services, or GSA “to ensure that alternative facilities or options will be available for internal service and internal service. of innovation at work at work. ”
GSA, which He sent a memorandum to various agencies last month seeking rental conclusions, did not respond to a comment request from BI.
What can this mean for the travelers who headed for national parks for their vacation?
The targeted objects include at least eight visitor centers, including some that do not have visible alternative locations, Frengel said. Visitors on the list include the Fairbanks Alaska Public Land Information Center, the Little River Canyon Preserve Visitors Center in Alabama, the Mississippi National River and Minelesota Visitors, and the Gold Rush Historical Class Visitor Center in Seattle.
Brengel said visitors’ centers are the first stop for many park players, who rely on the Rangers Park in those centers to get information on what to do or see, the park history and how to stay safe during exploration, as well as any tracking closure or potentially dangerous weather conditions.
Other facilities that the NPCA found may complete their rents include those used for law enforcement or search and rescue, or SAR. A Utah structure is located at the center of several national parks and staff and equipment houses, including some used to address fires and for SAR. NPCA said it is currently unclear where these resources would be moved if the rent was to end.
The list also includes science -centered facilities, such as water quality testing, and delicate home artifacts that require specific conditions to be safely stored, such as Southeast Archaeological Centers in Tallahassee, Florida.
Possible impacts are complicated by personnel cuts, which protect and park service workers said they can lead to excessive trash can and poorly maintained bathrooms and other facilities, as well as long entrance lines to access closed parks or areas.
Some park service staff are doing the case that rents are needed and are pulling for GSA for exceptions, worrying. It is unclear when the complaints will be given or when the final orders of the termination will be issued.
Brengel said that these reasons only seem to be targeted because they were considered “mild -term”, meaning that they were in a period of their contract in which they could be more easily terminated.
If the parks supervisors had been consulted before the proposal of the cuts, she said, they would have discovered that the NPs were “funded and unintegrated for 15 years”.
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