National parks across the country are already short-staffed, and the U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed steep cuts to the Park Service's budget for next year.
Karen Walters, with Friends of Crater Lake, said it’s becoming unsustainable.
“We are filling in for staff that is way, way, way short,” she said. "We are doing projects that should have been done years ago, but because of funding and staff cuts, they’re not getting done.”
More funding cuts could mean even fewer staff, along with more frequent visitor center closures and program cancellations. In July, a reconciliation bill pulled back hundreds of millions of dollars that had been intended to improve Park Service staffing.
Major staffing shortages were what prompted Kevin Heatley, former superintendent at Crater Lake, to resign in May. Staffing at Crater Lake has been cut in half over the past decade due to a lack of funding.
Caitlyn Burford, with the National Parks Conservation Association, said staffing levels are already critically low.
“Biologists and historians are cleaning bathrooms or running front desks," she said. "Without our staff, our parks don't run — not day to day, and definitely not long term."
Burford and other advocates met with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Sunday to advocate for national park funding and highlight the economic value parks bring to local communities.
