Yosemite Just Had One of its Busiest Summers Amid Staffing and Funding Shortages

Published September 10, 2025 07:53AM

Yosemite National Park experienced one of its busiest summers ever, the National Park Service reported last week, just months after steep cuts across the federal government left staffers worried about the park’s ability to function safely.

Between January and the end of August, the park received 2,919,722 visitors compared to 2,727,496 visitors the previous year – a seven percent increase.

Yosemite has seen significant budget cuts that make managing standard traffic volume challenging. Earlier this year, the Trump administration released a budget plan that called for a $1 billion reduction in funding for the National Park Service, including a $900 million loss to park operations and a $73 million loss to park construction. Shortly thereafter, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum ordered national parks to remain open as normal despite staffing shortages.

Since the Trump administration took office, the NPS has lost 24 percent of its staff members – about 16,000 of which went willingly due to a buyout program that the administration offered to reduce staffing across national parks. Yosemite National Park lost at least 18 employees to the buyout. Partially in response to the cuts, staff at Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks voted in August to unionize.

Current and former employees have reacted to Yosemite’s surging visitor numbers in conflicting ways with conflicting attitudes with many lower level employees venting frustration, and warning of an impending crisis park-wide.

The park’s former superintendent, Cicely Muldoon, retired from her position in February and has since voiced similar frustrations, telling Politico’s E&E News that “there are a lot of folks who are doing the jobs that three people used to do.”

“Summers, in particular, our high season, really just crush people, because you have to be called out on overtime all the time,” Muldoon said. “The search-and-rescue loads are intense. The traffic and parking, and Yosemite crowds are intense. People are always exhausted by the end.”

According to documents Politico obtained through a public records request, between January and July of this year the park received 40 percent more rescue calls over the same period in 2024. At the same time, the number of people working in law enforcement for the park has declined by 48 percent since 2010.

Still, the park’s acting superintendent, Ray McPadden, maintained in a press release that the park is doing well.

“This summer, we expanded access, offered new and improved facilities, experiences, and programs, all in testament to our dedicated park staff and partners,” said McPadden. “Their extraordinary efforts allowed millions of Americans and visitors from across the globe to enjoy Yosemite and create lifelong memories.”