National Park Service Scientists Told to Clean Park Toilets

National Park scientists are being pulled from their research duties to clean hundreds of campground restrooms after the firing of roughly 1,000 newly hired National Park Service (NPS) employees and about 3,400 U.S. Forest Service workers by the Trump administration in February.  

For example, Yosemite National Park in California is preparing for its busiest season of the year amid a custodial staff shortage caused by the Trump administration’s delay in hiring seasonal workers across the National Parks. With limited staff, restroom cleaning duties have been delegated to the park’s scientists, rangers, IT workers, and leadership teams in addition to their normal duties.  

Tackling custodial duties is not unheard of by NPS staff as at least once a season scientists are asked to pick up a cleaning shift. This year, due to further staffing constraints, scientists were asked to take up janitorial duties for at least three weeks if not more.  

NPS regularly hires about 8,000 seasonal employees, and these roles are exempt from Trump’s federal hiring freeze, which he enacted on the first day of his second term. 

National Park advocates have cautioned that the job cuts paired with the hiring freeze could lead to trash piling up and facilities falling into disrepair.