South Florida's national parks have closed up shop amid a federal government shutdown that will furlough more than 60% of National Park Service workers.
While wilderness in the region's sprawling national parks, refuges and preserve will remain largely accessible, the amenities that make them more hospitable — including rangers, visitor centers and clean bathrooms — will be missing, closed or left uncleaned.
"Our parks need rangers. Our parks need scientists. Our parks need fire managers," said Cara Capp, Greater Everglades Associate Director for the National Parks Conservation Association. "Shutting down the government and taking away our park staff is really not in line with how Americans feel."
The furloughs also risk becoming permanent layoffs after the U.S. Office of Budget and Management ordered agencies last week to begin preparing reduction-in-force plans for another round of firings. Politico reported Wednesday that OMB director Russ Vought said the layoffs could begin this week.
READ MORE: 'People are frightened': Sweeping Trump job cuts hit South Florida national parks
Since the first reduction in force earlier this year, the National Park Service has shrunk by at least a third. With 14,500 staff remaining, about 9,300 are now being furloughed, according to the Services's contingency plan for managing the shutdown. Only necessary personnel will remain, including some law enforcement and firefighting staff. Concessions operated privately, like the Flamingo Lodge at Everglades National Park and boat tours at Biscayne National Park, remain open.
What remains open and closed also depends on the particular park and case-by-case decisions.
A friend's group that raises money and organizes volunteers for the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge will likely keep its visitor center open, Capp said. But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that manages the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge is shutting it down. Earlier this years, layoffs also swept through Florida refuges.
"So it's just gonna be very chaotic for people to try and figure out what's open," she said. In addition, websites that typically post information about openings and closings will not be updated.
Worried that the understaffing will leave the land vulnerable to vandalism and harm, the NPCA is calling for parks to be closed entirely during the shutdown. Last week, more than 40 retired park superintendents also called for closures ahead of the shutdown.
"In previous shutdowns we saw that when people could access the park without park rangers, there was significant damage," Capp said. "There were artifacts stolen from national battlefields. There were Joshua trees cut down in Joshua Tree National Park. It's really a difficult situation when our parks are open for visitors but not staffed."
The closings mean parks will also lose a reliable stream of revenue: entrance fees. Last year, fees paid for more than $3 million in projects at Everglades National Park and nearly a half million dollars in 2023 at Biscayne National Park.
If the furloughs become permanent, Capp warned the loss could further cripple land that the government has invested billions in conserving and restoring. Spending on Everglades restoration alone topped $9 billion as of last year and is expected to cost $23 billion altogether.
"These are people who have worked for passion and now the careers that they have invested in are in extreme jeopardy, and it's really sad," Capp said. "Something that would be truly catastrophic for our parks is a mass staff firing in the midst of a government shutdown. This would really be a tremendous hit for our parks and for the people who love to visit them."
Copyright 2025 WLRN
