1. United States
2. Idaho
3. Letter

Idaho deserves better. Our parks are in chaos. Trump’s hiring freeze, the rescinding of hundreds of job offers, and the layoff of 5% of NPS staff have left our national park staff overwhelmed and short-handed. Now, as we approach the busiest months, they are expected to manage record-breaking crowds with a fraction of the workforce they need. It’s not just the staffing crisis—our day-use reservation system, designed to protect park resources and improve the visitor experience, appears unlikely to return this year. Without it, overcrowding will strain our fragile ecosystems even further. Efforts to preserve these lands for future generations are being abandoned. Then, on Feb. 6, we learned that the Trump administration had rescinded even more job offers—this time for seasonal law enforcement rangers, wildland firefighters, and EMTs. These are roles directly tied to public safety, supposedly exempt from Trump’s Jan. 20 hiring freeze. But now, critical emergency response positions are being cut, leaving both staff and visitors at risk. NPS take pride in protecting and maintaining these parks, but they are being set up to fail. The people who love and rely on these public lands deserve better. Do something Congress.