The Cuyahoga River looking south from the pedestrian bridge near Boston Mill Visitor Center.

Dough4872 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Composite story

Cuyahoga Valley visitors protest national park workforce cuts on NPS birthday

A grassroots Day of Action rally met Ohio's only national park as NPCA said the service has lost nearly a quarter of its permanent staff. Local coverage traces 2025 layoffs, closed bathrooms, and a conservancy filling gaps.

On the National Park Service's 110th birthday, visitors rallied at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in a grassroots Day of Action against workforce cuts. NPCA said parks have lost nearly 25% of permanent staff since January 2025; the Trump administration rejected claims it is undermining parks. Local reporting found CVNP hit by 2025 probationary firings, hiring freezes, closed restrooms, and canceled programs. Conservancy CEO Greg Peckham said the nonprofit now has more workers than the park and vacancies from deferred resignations remain unfilled.

Shared facts

Local advocates say federal cuts have left Cuyahoga Valley National Park understaffed.

The February cuts at CVNP included a planner, a park biologist, and a maintenance worker.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is Ohio's only national park.

Hiring was paused for vacant and seasonal posts at CVNP.

The Conservancy is a nonprofit partner that works with CVNP.

The National Park Service and Interior Department did not answer local questions about the staffing cuts.

Some CVNP public restrooms were closed or marked out of order amid the staffing shortfall.

Disputed facts

Sources disagree on whether CVNP lost three or four jobs in the February 2025 firings.

Cleveland 19 News

‘Save the parks!’: Cuyahoga Valley National Park visitors protest workforce cuts

Noelle Williams

25 Aug 2026

Facts

A nationwide Day of Action Tuesday brought protests to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Supporters rallied against federal budget cuts that advocates say have strained park resources and staffing.

NPCA said budget constraints have cut nearly 25% of the parks' permanent workforce since January 2025.

The National Parks Conservation Association launched the nationwide initiative.

The CVNP demonstration was grassroots and organized locally.

Davis said parks across the country have shortened visitor-center hours.

Davis said parks have less maintenance staff available.

The Trump administration has rejected claims that its policies are undermining the national park system.

Davis said some larger parks have fewer EMTs for rescues.

Officials said the policies expand recreational access, cut red tape, and raise money for infrastructure.

In May the House rejected dramatic Trump administration budget cuts that advocates said preserved baseline park funding.

Opinion

Kavali asked why livelihoods and long-protected land should be cut.

Kavali said the turnout gave him hope for the park's future.

Local supporters said they will keep speaking out so the park stays fully staffed.

News 5 Cleveland

Former Cuyahoga Valley National Park ranger speaks out after federal cuts, layoffs

Tessa DiTirro

29 Aug 2025

Facts

Cuyahoga Valley National Park has faced hiring freezes and layoffs since January.

Machuga took early retirement in April after the year's hiring freezes and layoffs.

Pam Machuga started working at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 1991.

Machuga said grass was very tall in April and May because the park lacked mowers.

Machuga said outreach programs she worked on were canceled.

Machuga said she worked on outreach programs that were canceled.

"For 10 plus years, I did campfire programs every Thursday night for six weeks in the summer, you invited our community groups and you invited the public, there are no public campfire programs, there are no Healthful Hikes, or hidden history walks," said Machuga.

attribution · Pam Machuga

Federal workers nationwide were given options to resign or retire early.

Machuga said remaining staff are probably working overtime to keep the park running.

Machuga said people who want to preserve the park should call their member of Congress.

Opinion

Machuga said remaining employees will burn out, leave the Park Service, and leave the park more short-staffed.

"We want to make sure we're giving these park employees the tools to serve the public because they're just going to leave. They're going to get overwhelmed, they're going to get burned out, and they're going to do what most of my co-workers have done, and they're going to leave the national park service, which will leave us even more short-staffed," said Machuga.

attribution · Pam Machuga

Ideastream Public Media

After federal cuts, here's how Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park supports understaffed park

Grace Claxon

3 Aug 2026

Facts

Peckham said CVNP staff has not recovered from last year's federal cuts and layoffs.

Conservancy now has more workers than the national park itself.

CVNP had 3.03 million visitors last year, according to the NPS.

Peckham said NPS staffing has fallen 40% over the last 15 years.

Many CVNP employees resigned, and those vacancies have not been filled.

On Jan. 28, 2025, OPM offered full-time federal employees a deferred resignation program.

Those who accepted were placed on administrative leave until Sept. 30, 2025.

Peckham said Conservancy has taken on new roles as a community development organization for the park.

However, Conservancy has taken on new roles to support CVNP in the past year and become a “community development organization” for the national park, Peckham said.

Conservancy is focusing on visitor experience and improving the national park for the communities surrounding it.

attribution · Greg Peckham

Conservancy bought Brandywine Golf Course in 2021 and transferred 198 of 213 acres to NPS in 2022.

Peckham said the River Center will be about a 12,000-square-foot front door to the park.

“We’re developing what we’re calling ‘The River Center,’ which is probably going to be about a 12,000-square-foot front door to the park,” Peckham said. “It will be a community space where you’ll be able to kayak in and grab a beer or a sandwich.”

attribution · Greg Peckham

Peckham said Conservancy is designing a park within a park on that land.

Conservancy is adding boardwalks, outlooks, and trails at Oxbow Meadows.

He said it will be a community space where visitors can kayak in and get a beer or sandwich.

“We’re developing what we’re calling ‘The River Center,’ which is probably going to be about a 12,000-square-foot front door to the park,” Peckham said. “It will be a community space where you’ll be able to kayak in and grab a beer or a sandwich.”

attribution · Greg Peckham

Opinion

Peckham said federal cuts have put the park under pressure and forced smarter joint work.

Peckham said making the park work for locals also makes it work for tourists.

Peckham said the site can tell a story of historic displacement, including Native tribes and Black recreation during segregation.

“It’s also an incredible place to tell a story … about the historic displacement of communities,” Peckham said. “We know a lot about the history of the native tribes that were living here and also the Black recreation in Cleveland and Akron. During the times of segregation, before this was a national park, families were (using CVNP) as places to recreate, to celebrate, to have great times.”

attribution · Greg Peckham

Peckham said Conservancy and CVNP want to connect waterfronts with Cleveland and Akron.

In the future, Peckham said Conservancy and CVNP are looking forward to “capturing the potential” of the waterfronts and connecting with the communities in Cleveland and Akron.

“The hallmark of success will be that people in our cities view this as their national park,” Peckham said. “What I think we’re trying to do at the Conservancy is change the narrative so that people think about this national park as this park of the future.”

attribution · Greg Peckham

Signal Cleveland

Cuyahoga Valley National Park hit with federal cuts

Brittany Moseley

20 Feb 2025

Facts

About 1,000 National Park Service employees lost their jobs Friday.

Of the roughly 1,000 National Park Service employees who lost their jobs Friday, several of them were from Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The firings at the National Park Service are the latest in a series of cuts across federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

fact

Yandala said CVNP still had 40 unfilled seasonal positions.

Yandala said the workers were notified Friday and last paid Tuesday.

Yandala was not aware of any part-time employees also being let go.

Interior said it would exempt 5,000 seasonal positions from the hiring freeze.

Yandala said some Conservancy projects may slow or stop without Park Service planning help.

“So we’re deeply concerned about things like, will there be enough staff to maintain the facilities this summer? Some of the projects we’re working on may slow down, if not stop, because we really need that planning assistance from the park service.”

attribution · Deb Yandala

CVNP had more than 2.8 million recreation visits in 2023.

NPS reported 325.5 million recreation visits nationwide in 2023, up 4% from 2022.

Yandala had worked with CVNP 32 years and been Conservancy CEO since 2002, with plans to step down in 2025.

Yandala has worked with CVNP for 32 years and has served as CEO of the conservancy since 2002. (In October, she announced plans to step down in 2025.) She’s dealt with funding cuts before and called it an “ongoing problem” for the National Park Service.

fact

Opinion

Pierno said cuts of that magnitude will have devastating consequences for parks and communities.

In a statement posted online Friday, Theresa Pierno, president and CEO for the National Parks Conservation Association, said, “Allowing parks to hire seasonal staff is essential, but staffing cuts of this magnitude will have devastating consequences for parks and communities. We are concerned about smaller parks closing visitor center doors and larger parks losing key staff including wastewater treatment operators.”

attribution · Theresa Pierno

Yandala said the new cuts hurt an already understaffed agency.

Yandala said the public still expects clean facilities, open centers, programs, and fast law-enforcement response even as staff is cut.

“There’s a high expectation that we want facilities clean. We want visitor centers open. We want programs. We want to be able to access fast response[s] from law enforcement when there’s problems. And yet we keep cutting staff,” Yandala said.

“I think this is not the way to fix any budgetary problems. I do not see waste. I see hardworking, dedicated public servants. And to see this kind of instability for them is really difficult.”

attribution · Deb Yandala

WOSU Public Media

Billboards point out DOGE staff cuts to Cuyahoga Valley National Park ahead of peak travel season

George Shillcock

13 May 2025

Facts

The billboards say CVNP now has reduced staff made possible by DOGE.

The billboard says "Greetings from Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Now with Reduced Staff Made Possible by DOGE." Billboards like these around the U.S. for CVNP and other parks are being funded by More Perfect Union, a progressive group run by an aide to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

fact

A tourism-style billboard on Columbus's State Route 161 flags DOGE staff cuts at Ohio's only national park.

About 70 billboards went up in Ohio near Cleveland and Akron.

More Perfect Union, a progressive group run by a Bernie Sanders aide, funded the billboards.

The billboard says "Greetings from Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Now with Reduced Staff Made Possible by DOGE." Billboards like these around the U.S. for CVNP and other parks are being funded by More Perfect Union, a progressive group run by an aide to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Faiz Shakir, executive director for More Perfect Union, says his group funded the billboards to bring attention to the job cuts.

Shakir currently works for Sanders as his chief political advisor and was the independent senator's campaign manager for his 2020 presidential campaign.

fact

The billboards highlight at least half a dozen federal cuts this year to park staff.

The billboards call attention to at least half a dozen cuts the federal government made this year to park staff.

Shakir said his agency learned of the cuts through local media reports, but deferred to the National Park Service and DOGE about the exact details of the staffing cuts.

fact

CVNP spokesperson Jennie Vasarhelyi said operations were mostly running as usual.

In a statement, CVNP spokesperson Jennie Vasarhelyi said the park's operations are mostly operating as they normally would.

"Most of the trails and facilities will remain open for normal hours in Cuyahoga Valley National Park this summer," Vasarhelyi said.

attribution · Jennie Vasarhelyi

That list also included an engineer.

Vasarhelyi said two of the park's 28 public restrooms were closed.

A Towpath stretch between Fitzwater Road and Tinkers Creek Aqueduct was closed for riverbank work.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park covers about 33,000 acres.

Shakir said the billboards went up just before peak summer park travel.

Shakir said the group is watching more proposed budget cuts and plans to sell federal land.

Shakir said his group is watching for more cuts being proposed by President Donald Trump's administration in the federal budget and proposals to sell parkland and other federally-owned land for mining, drilling and other corporate ownership rights.

attribution · Faiz Shakir

Shakir said the campaign also targets parks in Florida, California, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.

Opinion

Shakir said park jobs should not be the first target of a government-efficiency drive.

"It is inappropriate in my view to think about them as the first lines of attack on government inefficiencies or fraud. These aren't the best targets. There are many other better targets if you're going after government inefficiencies or government waste," Shakir said.

attribution · Faiz Shakir

Shakir said visitors may get a worse park experience this year because of the cuts.

"(Families) look forward to it all year round, take their children and visit some of the best that America has to offer. And in my view, sadly, this year... we could experience a degraded experience or degraded quality of experience for many people who are gonna go to these national parks," Shakir said.

attribution · Faiz Shakir

Shakir criticized how DOGE decided the cuts.

Shakir was critical of DOGE's process in deciding these cuts.

"I know from the DOGE perspective, they look at a spreadsheet and press delete, and they're not too worried about some of what they deem to be 'low-level people' doing jobs of maintaining the cleanliness of a park or keeping your experience of a high quality," Shakir said.

left · pluralist

Shakir said he does not think the billboards will keep visitors away.

Shakir said he doesn't think the billboards will deter visitors, but he does hope they will inspire conversation and debate about why these cuts needed to happen.

"It doesn't matter if you're a billionaire or somebody who makes $100,000 a year or $10,000 a year, you can generally go to the national parks and have the same experience as somebody else. That's what we wanna preserve and maintain," Shakir said.

attribution · Faiz Shakir

Cuyahoga Valley visitors protest national park workforce cuts on NPS birthday

Shared facts

Disputed facts

Shared opinions

Disputed opinions

‘Save the parks!’: Cuyahoga Valley National Park visitors protest workforce cuts

Facts

Opinion

Former Cuyahoga Valley National Park ranger speaks out after federal cuts, layoffs

Facts

Opinion

After federal cuts, here's how Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park supports understaffed park

Facts

Opinion

Cuyahoga Valley National Park hit with federal cuts

Facts

Opinion

Billboards point out DOGE staff cuts to Cuyahoga Valley National Park ahead of peak travel season

Facts

Opinion