The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been axing federal workers by the thousands and some of those hardest hit are national parks and forest service workers. This means that if you get a chance to visit one of America’s beautiful parks, things might not be quite how you expect. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
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00:00Summer is right around the corner, but if you're getting ready to spend any time at all at our nation's national parks
00:05you might want to listen closely. The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been axing federal workers by the
00:11thousands, and some of those hardest hit are national parks and Forest Service workers.
00:16This means that if you get a chance to visit one of America's beautiful national parks, the trails or parking areas might be less
00:22accessible due to downed trees, rock slides, or other natural impediments. And if you are able to get to those areas,
00:27they may become overwhelmed by trash and human refuse, something many of those fired federal workers were
00:33responsible for clearing. With jail down, one of the recently fired wilderness rangers who worked for the Forest Service telling HuffPost,
00:39people will still be there, but the facilities won't be there,
00:42which is going to just encourage a lot more poor behavior. Adding that if restroom facilities are not properly maintained,
00:48human waste may end up in rivers and lakes en masse, a concern for both wildlife and humans recreating nearby. The Trump administration
00:56says they are hiring seasonal staff to fill in the gaps.
00:58However, experts say that seasonal workers simply do not have the experience and knowledge. In fact, part of the DOGE cuts included the firing of
01:05some staff whose job it was specifically to train seasonal workers.