Crater Lake National Park superintendent resigns as staffing plunges

When Kevin Heatley took over as superintendent of Crater Lake National Park in January, he was excited to oversee one of Oregon’s most iconic sites, whose stunning vistas and volcanic formations attract roughly half a million visitors each year.

But after less than five months on the job, Heatley hung up his ranger’s uniform Friday, citing the Trump administration’s staffing cuts at the National Park Service as a major reason for his decision to take a buyout offer.

“It is really not an easy decision and not something I take lightly to walk away from Crater Lake,” the 64-year-old said in an interview Friday. “But I’m tired of waking up at 3 in the morning and not being able to fall back asleep because I’m concerned about how I’m going to navigate the latest staffing communiqué.”

Even as Elon Musk leaves the Trump administration, the U.S. DOGE Service’s purge of federal employees is continuing to upend the lives of Park Service workers. It also threatens to undermine the visitor experience at national parks across the country this summer, when visitation is expected to peak.

And while Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has sought to reassure members of Congress that parks have sufficient staffing, the Park Service’s workforce has seen a sharp decline since Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to internal Interior Department data obtained by the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group, and shared with The Washington Post.

Burgum testified before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on interior, environment and related agencies last month that “about 26,500 people work in the park system.” But as of May 13, the Park Service had 18,066 employees, according to the internal Interior data.

That marks a nearly 16.5 % drop in Park Service staff since fiscal 2023, the latest year for which data is available. The decrease includes staff who took buyout offers, deferred resignations and early retirements. It also accounts for vacancies across the agency, including those left by fired probationary workers who opted not to return after a federal judge reinstated them.

“Secretary Burgum’s narrative doesn’t match the reality unfolding in our parks,” Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement. “The Park Service is in a full-blown staffing crisis. Thousands of essential positions remain vacant across the system, including roughly 100 superintendent roles.”

Asked for comment, a Park Service spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “The Department of the Interior and National Park Service are committed to keeping our beautiful parks open for visitors and delivering results for the American people by focusing resources on our core mission – protecting and preserving our nation’s parks. … Visitors can expect the same great service they have had in years past as we have made a lot of progress with hiring and are still onboarding summer seasonal staff.”

The spokesperson added that staffing numbers at Yellowstone National Park are higher this year compared with previous years, citing a report in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle of Montana that the park has gained 76 employees since 2021.

Of the Park Service’s 18,066 employees, roughly 14,770 are full time, while roughly 3,300 are seasonal or temporary, the data shows. That marks a 39 % drop since fiscal 2023 in seasonal and temporary workers, who play a crucial role in keeping parks running during the busy summer season.

Burgum also told senators that many Park Service employees focus on information technology or human resources, rather than day-to-day park operations. “We got several thousand people working in IT, and I don’t know what they do,” he said.

However, the data shows a total of 448 IT and HR positions across the Park Service as of May 13. That represents roughly 2% of the agency’s workforce.

At Crater Lake National Park, staffing shortages have persisted for the past several years, Heatley said. But they have intensified since Trump took office and imposed a federal hiring freeze, even though some seasonal workers were eventually exempted from the freeze, he said.

If Crater Lake were fully staffed this summer, it would have eight park rangers, said a current park employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Instead, it has three.

“It’s really demoralizing,” the employee said. “We were poised to fill two of those positions at the start of the year, but it’s been pushed back because of the hiring freeze and then the rush to get all the seasonals hired.”

Heatley said low staffing almost forced Crater Lake to cancel a popular annual event called Ride the Rim, in which East Rim Drive is closed to car traffic, allowing thousands of cyclists to enjoy the park on two wheels. But at the last minute, a regional travel bureau called Discover Klamath agreed to provide 40 volunteers for the occasion, he said.

“That’s not a sustainable model for running an organization – or a park,” Heatley said.

Dan Wenk, who served as superintendent of Yellowstone from 2011 until 2018, when the first Trump administration forced him out, said he understands why Heatley and others are leaving.

“What superintendents are being asked to do is very, very difficult and stressful, so I do not have any negative feelings toward those who are stepping down,” Wenk said. “And I very much appreciate those superintendents who made the decision to stay and do everything they can to make sure the park is protected.”

As for Heatley, he does not know what will come next in his career. He is not ready to retire, but under the terms of his buyout offer, he can’t return to the federal government for the next five years.

“I’ll still stay involved in natural resources,” he said. “And I’ll continue to support Crater Lake however I can, even if it’s just as a volunteer.”