E97 - Save the National Parks' Staff from Firings! Retired Forester Kristine Johnson Talks about Effects on Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Our National Park Service staff are under seige, as so many federal employees are, from trump and Elon Musk’s unfair attacks on our federal government agencies with haphazard and frankly cruel mass firings of public servants (not truly based on inefficiency or poor performance) along with spending and hiring freezes that are traumatizing and debilitating park employees and surrounding communities, creating a culture of fear and demoralization (the rhetoric not only lacks appreciation but is insulting). What little we gain in $ savings are outweighed by the massive long-term costs for everyone.

I turned to a career pu...