As America’s national parks host record crowds, there is growing concern that federal cuts, staff shortages, and shifting priorities could threaten the future of these natural treasures. 

Humans have navigated Zion’s cathedral canyons for centuries. The Ancestral Puebloan and Paiute peoples came first, followed by settlers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  

Roman Lech, a visitor from Poland, traveled halfway around the world with his family. “We come here from Poland because we want to see your national parks.”

Protection for this ‘great temple of stone’ began in 1909 when it was proclaimed Mukuntuweap National Monument. Renamed Zion by Mormon settlers, it received national park status in 1919.

“Breathtaking.. I mean, you see beauty that you’ve never seen before,” said another park visitor from Delaware, Gerry Smith.

As one of the National Park System’s most visited parks, second only to the Great Smoky Mountains, Zion welcomes roughly 5 million visitors each year, breaking that milestone for the first time in 2021.  

For rangers like Matthew Fink, wearing the iconic uniform is more than a job. It is a promise to protect this fragile resource and keep visitors safe.

“The mission of the National Park Service is to protect places like Zion for future generations. That’s about as pure of a mission statement as I can imagine,” said Ranger Matthew Fink, Zion National Park public affairs specialist. 

Visitation has risen roughly 80 percent over the last 15 years. The surge in foot traffic is now colliding with a new era of federal belt-tightening.

While a proposal to slash a billion dollars from the National Park Service didn’t pass, the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ still reduced the park’s budget by about $267 million. Combined with a mandate to shrink the federal workforce, advocates say it is a one-two punch that pushes the system toward a breaking point.

“Since January, the National Park Service has lost about a quarter of its permanent workforce. So nearly one in four people are no longer in their jobs at the National Park Service. And this follows a decade of just decreased funding to the national parks. At the same time that the parks have never been more popular, they reached a record 331 million recreational visits in 2024,” said Cassidy Jones of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Jones, a Sr. Visitation Program manager with the NPCA, advocates for everything parks-related, including speaking up for park employees who keep quiet over fear of losing their jobs. 

“This administration has been very clear that they do not want to talk about personnel issues,” Jones explained. “That’s a directive that comes right from the Secretary of Interior’s office. And so, they’re not commenting on different tactics on ways to shrink the federal workforce is affecting the Park Service’s ability to do its job.”

A near-total hiring freeze has left roughly a quarter of Park Service jobs unfilled. Lack of funding for critical maintenance adds to an already significant backlog of repairs across more than 400 park sites that include monuments, battlefields, beaches, and historic landmarks. Today, Zion Forever Project, a non-partisan friends group, is working to ensure a positive visitor experience by stretching dollars to fund critical projects. 

“Whether that’s in education, conservation, search and rescue, or making sure our parks have the resources and tools they need to do their jobs effectively,” said Natalie Britt, president of Zion Forever. 

For 96 years, the Zion Forever Project has worked to ensure a positive visitor experience. Donations, however, cannot replace full-time federal workers. Britt says lean rosters force hard tradeoffs in key areas.

“As you have less and less people, there’s 700 search and rescues in this park every year. There’s a moral issue, so when there’s less people doing that… the impact to the public, and the impact to our Green and Grey, is certainly a challenge.”

Former superintendents warn that the math is getting harder for parks to sustain basic services. 

“We generate $15 for every dollar we bring in, and we’re only 1/15 of 1% of the entire budget of the national budget,” said Fred Fagergren, a former National Park Service superintendent.

National parks are in Fagergren’s blood. His father spent two decades as a Zion ranger before Fred followed in his footsteps and served 34 years in the Park Service.

“For me, it’s the place I grew up. It means a lot to me,” said an emotional Fagergren. “Nowadays, it’s hard to get people to come work for the National Park Service because we have housing problems. So, I don’t know where the Park Service can go unless there are additional funds provided.”

Unfortunately, he says things could get worse. The Great American Outdoors Act, landmark legislation that has pumped billions into fixing aging park infrastructure, is set to expire next year. Without congressional reauthorization, the maintenance backlog now estimated in the tens of billions will only grow.

“Now, when you have parks that are 97, 98 percent personnel services, you don’t have any money for overtime, you don’t have money for supplies, you certainly don’t have any money to repair something,” said Philip Brueck, another former National Park Service superintendent who served more than three decades in the system. 

“And so, I think the need if we, if Congress and the president go ahead with these kinds of cuts, I think we may even see some parks closing down because they can’t handle the management duties and responsibilities they have,” Brueck said. 

Back in Zion, the work continues. It is fueled by the mission to protect these places for future generations.

“What I do believe is the folks who do this job are committed to being a force for good. You meet somebody in the Green and Grey, they are called by a bigger purpose to serve the public and to do the right thing,” Britt said.

It will take more than just the rangers in the green and gray uniforms to protect these places. The future of America’s natural treasures rests on whether Congress, communities, and individuals are willing to fight for them, too.