Yosemite National Park delays reservations, amid federal layoffs
The announcement comes as the federal government laid off about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees who maintain and clean parks.
YOSEMITE JUNCTION, Calif. — Yosemite National Park announced it’s delaying the sale of campsite reservations for the popular summer months.
Officials said the reservation delays will affect five campsites: Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Wawona and Hodgdon Meadow. Delays will affect reservations made between June 15 through July 14.
“We understand the impact this has on visitors who are planning camping trips to the park. We are grateful for your patience. Our goal is to release these campground nights as soon as possible,” the national park wrote in a statement.
The announcement comes as the federal government laid off about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other functions as part of its broad-based effort to downsize government.
Democratic senators denounced the job cuts, saying in a letter before the mass firings were imposed that if a significant number of National Park Service workers take an early retirement package offered by Trump or are terminated from their positions, “park staffing will be in chaos. Not only does this threaten the full suite of visitor services, but could close entire parks altogether.”
Yosemite sees about four million visitors a year and is popular for camping, hiking and fishing. Park officials will provide a seven-day notice before reservations are opened.