"CODY, Wyoming - At Yosemite National Park in California, one of the oldest and most popular U.S. natural preserves, the workforce is stretched so thin this season that nearly all staffers, even scientists, are required to take turns cleaning campground toilets, according to two people familiar with conditions there.
The staff hydrologist and an invasive species expert have also been posted at entry gates to process visitors, a job normally handled by lower-paid seasonal workers and junior staff, one of the sources said.
It's a reflection of a severe worker shortage in national parks across the country, which have been under budget and understaffed for years, that has been made worse by cuts to the federal workforce by President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency."
Steve Gorman, Tim Reid and Ruffin Prevost report for Reuters June 8, 2025.
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