Charleston, W.Va. native Ellen Blackwood was one of the 1,000 National Park Service employees who last their job as part of a Trump administration plan to downsize the federal government. (Courtesy photo)
In December, Charleston native Ellen Blackwood started her dream as a recreation fee technician at Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine. Just two months later, on Valentine’s Day, that dream was cut short.
Blackwood was one of 1,000 newly hired National Park Service workers who were recently fired from their jobs as part of a Trump administration plan to downsize federal spending. The effort is being led by billionaire Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. In addition to the Park Service terminations, 2,000 people were terminated from their jobs with the U.S. Forest Service.
“I’m definitely scared. I had just signed a lease for a place up there, and had even started a second job just to supplement my income” Blackwood said.
“Not being secure in my plan anymore, that was scary,” she said. “But also it’s very concerning to hear all of these federal agencies losing employees. It’s not just the Park Service, the Forest Service, too, and other federal agencies. I just wonder where we’re going. What’s next?”
The layoffs have led to concerns about longer lines into the park and for potentially unsafe conditions for visitors and as well as making forests more vulnerable to fires.
In addition to concerns about her future, Blackwood said she worries about the future of the parks, which may go without needed maintenance due to the staffing cuts. News reports indicate that the cuts have already harmed visitor experience at national parks around the country. In 2023, more than 325 million people visited one of the 400 national parks.
“If there aren’t people to maintain the trails, then it could mean closures to the areas of the park because they’re deemed unsafe,” she said. “It could mean bathrooms and other necessary facilities are closed because there aren’t the staff to go in and clean them up, restock them with toilet paper. Lots of closures, I foresee happening.”
Seven other Acadia National Park workers were eliminated Feb. 14, she said. At least seven of the eight total jobs were funded from fee donations, not appropriated money, she said.
“So it’s not saving the government money,” Blackwood said. “And fee dollars are important, not just because they fund these positions, but because they go to fixing up the park and repairing facilities, repairing trails, making the parks a great experience for all who visit. Twelve million dollars was brought in by my position and others like it at Acadia in 2024. Without us there, there’s just no way the park could collect that much in the future.”
Blackwood said her termination letter said she failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because her skills and knowledge didn’t meet the department’s needs.
She disagrees with that assessment. Her first job with the Park Service was in 2021. She hadn’t been on the job long enough for a performance review in her current role, but she’d been given high ratings and even a performance award for a past season at Acadia, she said.
“So if I had an outstanding season at Acadia where I received a performance award, why would they hire me for this permanent position if I wasn’t qualified or fit?” she said.
The National Park Service did not respond to a question about whether the New River Gorge National Park or any of the state’s national trails or historical parks were affected by layoffs. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the agency eliminated 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service, but did not respond to a question about whether West Virginia was affected.
Many of the positions were compensated by temporary Inflation Reduction Act funding, the spokesman said.
“It’s unfortunate that the Biden administration hired thousands of people with no plan in place to pay them long term,” he said. “Secretary [Brooke] Rollins is committed to preserving essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted.”
Blackwood had hoped to make a career with the National Park Service. She started working as a college student at Yosemite National Park in 2021 and has had stints at Olympic National Park and Everglades National Park. She earned a degree in recreation, parks and tourism at West Virginia University. Her love of public lands started with childhood trips to West Virginia landmarks.
“So many of my childhood memories are tied to visits to public lands in West Virginia, like Dolly Sods, Canaan, Blackwater, Kanawha State Forest,” she said. “And I’ve always, always appreciated these natural spaces, and I think they’re so important, and their preservation is so important.”
Blackwood said she doesn’t know what’s next for her. She’ll stay in West Virginia with family for now. She hopes she can get back to the National Park Service in the future.
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