ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 21, 2025
The Trump administration is restoring jobs for dozens of National Park Service employees fired amid government-wide reductions and hiring nearly 3,000 additional seasonal workers, following an uproar over an aggressive plan to downsize the agency. Lawmakers and advocacy groups have criticized the widespread layoffs as unnecessary and a threat to public safety and the parks themselves. Concern about the layoffs was bipartisan. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said she’s worried that Acadia National Park will “not be able to hire the seasonal employees required to collect entrance fees and perform other essential tasks such as maintaining trails and providing first responder services to visitors.”