U.S. Park Rangers respond to an emergency in Yosemite National Park in October. Staffing cuts make spotting a ranger inside the park increasingly rare.

These days, except for those who greet the 4 million annual visitors at Yosemite National Park’s entrance gates, spotting a ranger inside the park has become increasingly rare, much like an endangered species. 

Visits to Yosemite and other locations in the National Park System are near pre-pandemic levels and rising, but this did not stop the federal government’s DOGE romp of 2025, led by Elon Musk. As a result, the National Park Service lost about 1,800 employees from its permanent workforce. At Yosemite, close to 25% of the staff was cut. 

Elizabeth Villano, a self-described “resistance ranger” who worked at National Park System sites in the Bay Area, told KQED that the cuts were a “morale bomb” for those still on the job at Yosemite. 

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The 43-day federal government shutdown in fall 2025 certainly didn’t help morale, either. The skeleton staff at Yosemite contended with vandalism, illegal camping, trash accumulation, graffiti, wildlife harassment, unpermitted climbs on Half Dome and meadow damage. BASE jumping, an activity outlawed in Yosemite in the 1980s, returned to the lip of El Capitan, with people leaping off, intent on popping open their parachutes before impacting the meadow 3,000 feet below. It’s park rangers who must deal with the results of those who fail.

The dire impact of staff cuts at Yosemite is now even more potent.........

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