Thousands Of National Park Workers Are Still Without Jobs. So People Are 'Adopting' A Park Ranger This Holiday Season

Thousands Of National Park Workers Are Still Without Jobs. So People Are 'Adopting' A Park Ranger This Holiday Season

Thousands Of National Park Workers Are Still Without Jobs. So People Are 'Adopting' A Park Ranger This Holiday Season It’s a tough time for national park rangers.  Earlier this year, heavy-handed budget cuts gutted the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. In February, the USFS announced it would be firing around 3,400 recent hires, and the NPS would terminate about 1,000 employees under President Donald Trump’s push to cut federal spending, according to Reuters. Since then, more cuts have been made, budgets threatened, and during the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, many employees were furloughed without pay, while park sites took a hit in the form of damaged property, visitor safety issues, and reduced maintenance.  Although furloughed workers are returning to the parks, many public land advocates say national parks — and the people who steward them — face a “nightmare.”  Park rangers who are still working for the NPS face even more uncertainty follow…