As throngs of individuals paraded through Yosemite National Park, waving handcrafted signs above their heads, they echoed a singular rallying cry: “Preserve our parks.” From the Grand Canyon to the Rocky Mountains to Yellowstone and beyond, multitudes assembled at national parks throughout the nation on Saturday to denounce far-reaching federal cutbacks to the United States’ cherished public lands. In recent weeks, the administration of President Donald Trump terminated approximately 2,000 newly hired staff members at the U.S. Forest Service and eliminated an additional 1,000 positions at the National Park Service. These widespread layoffs, part of a continued effort to reduce federal bureaucracy and expenditures, have sparked apprehensions regarding the future of these territories. Affected employees of national parks and forests disclosed to NBC News that the reduced workforce will result in longer queues, unsanitary restrooms, and hazardous hiking and camping conditions. “We must put an end to this absurdity,” remarked John Goodwin, a retired veteran park service employee, to NBC Bay Area while participating in a demonstration at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco. “We must reinstate the terminated individuals, not just at national parks but also for every federal worker who has lost their job in the past six weeks.” In response to the initial outcry against the cutbacks, The Associated Press reported that the administration would revive a minimum of 50 positions and recruit nearly 3,000 extra seasonal workers. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction was palpable leading up to the nationwide protests on Saturday. In Yosemite a week prior, a group of dismissed park employees displayed an American flag upside down atop El Capitan, a renowned 3,000-foot vertical rock formation. An inverted American flag traditionally signifies “dire distress,” as per the U.S. Flag Code. On Saturday, activists congregated at national parks of varying sizes, spanning numerous states from one coast to the other. “The public lands are the collective heritage of all Americans, and federal agencies along with federal employees labor on behalf of the citizens,” articulated demonstrator Peri Sasnett to an NBC affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island, urging the administration to “reinstate unlawfully dismissed federal employees.” She voiced her dissent at the Roger Williams National Memorial, a 4.5-acre park in Providence. In Washington state, local resident Austin Woods was among over 50 people who gathered to protest at the Whitman Mission National Historic Site. “At times, it feels like there is little we can do within the current political climate,” he conveyed to a nearby NBC affiliate. “However, one action we can take is to be present, vocal, and zealous.” Since assuming office in January, the Trump administration has executed widespread terminations across numerous governmental sectors, targeting employees in their probationary periods. This move followed the administration’s attempt to extend buyout offers to nearly all government workers and enforce a hiring freeze for federal employees. On Wednesday, a memo from the
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