Former National Park Service director reflects on layoffs, deep cuts

Former National Park Service director reflects on layoffs, deep cuts

In January 2025, after four years directing the National Park Service, Chuck Sams stepped down from his post and moved from Washington, D.C. to his home in Pendleton, Oregon. Back at the agency, where he’d just served as its first Native American director, 1,000 workers had just lost their jobs. By that summer, then under the leadership of acting director Jessica Bowron, NPS had lost nearly a quarter of its permanent staff. The layoffs came as t…