By Alex Wild
Today I lost my dream job as a permanent park ranger with the National Park Service. I’m still in shock, and completely devastated.
I have dedicated my life to being a public servant, a teacher, and an advocate for places we all cherish. I have saved lives and put my own life at risk to serve my community. And today, without any warning, I got a termination email stating:
“The Department determined you have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because your subject matter knowledge, skills, and abilities do not meet the Department’s current needs, and it is necessary and appropriate to terminate, during the probationary period, your appointment to the position of Park Ranger.”
This is the biggest slap in the face imaginable.
This decision has nothing to do with performance or the needs of the department. My supervisors and park leadership have made it clear I am a valued and essential part of the team. This decision came from the top, DOGE and the new federal administration.
I honestly can’t imagine how the parks will operate without my position. I mean, they just can’t. I am the only EMT (emergency medical technician) at my park and the first responder for any emergency. This is flat-out reckless.
There are 800 other National Park Service employees that unexpectedly lost their jobs today, and thousands of people in other agencies. They are now unemployed. Those who lived in park housing are now homeless. They have no income to support their families, all by the act of a single layoff. These are U.S. citizens with background checks and college degrees. These are the people who teach your Junior Rangers, build your trails, clean your restrooms, rescue injured visitors, and keep the parks operating.
We are not the excess. We are essential to maintaining access to parks.
My heart is broken for all of the other people who lost their jobs and their housing. My heart is broken for the parks and landscapes that will be damaged. And my heart is broken for my country.
Please share this and take action by messaging congress at the National Parks Conservation Association’s Job Cuts page.
This was originally posted by Alex Wild on Feb. 15, 2025. Alex served as a National Park Service ranger at Devil’s Postpile National Monument in Mammoth Lakes, and previously served as a ranger at Yosemite National Park.
A native of Poway, Alex has a long history of park service, including service with San Diego County Parks at Agua Caliente County Park, Los Peñasquitos Canyon, El Cajon Mountain, and as a park attendant at San Elijo Lagoon. Alex studied music at Point Loma Nazarene University after attending Mesa College, and is a graduate of Poway High School. — Tommy