Researchers study black swifts in Glacier National Park, Montana, in 2018. Cuts to the Park Service means the parks are missing out on species monitoring data.

This story was originally published by High Country News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk Collaboration.

Stories of struggle flow unceasingly from our public lands — here, a senior botanist pulled from invasive species removal to check campgrounds for unattended fires; there, a trail crew fired, leaving backcountry areas inaccessible after timber blowdowns. Elsewhere, fire crews are bracing for destructive wildland blazes without the necessary backup from extra personnel certified to help.

The Trump administration has already cut thousands of employees from the US Forest Service, Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management, and thousands more workers now fear for their jobs after the Supreme Court gave the administration the green light.

And yet, on the surface, many national parks and even Forest Service campgrounds appear to be managing business as usual.

“Some districts still have recreation crews in place, though others hardly have any, and fire folks are running around trying to clean toilets,” said Mary Erickson, the recently retired Custer Gallatin National Forest supervisor. Senior staff have retired or taken the DOGE “fork in the road” email, leading to, among other things, drastic shortfalls in........

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