Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishFollowing the firing of thousands of national park employees under Donald Trump’s administration, park scientists are now being pulled from their research duties to clean hundreds of campground bathrooms.Roughly 1,000 newly hired National Park Service (NPS) employees and about 3,400 US Forest Service workers were fired in February, sparking concerns that the administration’s actions could harm the country’s most sacred natural lands.In California, Yosemite National Park is bracing for its busiest season of the year amid a custodial staff shortage – the result of the president’s delay in hiring seasonal workers across the nation’s beloved parks.With staff stretched thin, bathroom clean-up duty has now fallen to an unlikely group – the park’s scientists, rangers, IT workers and even its leadership team.’When our manager first notified us that we were assigned this new duty, I was somewhat outraged,’ one employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told SFGate.’We are already understaffed, mainly due to the hiring freeze caused by the new administration, and now more work unrelated to our job description is being piled on top of us?’The National Park Service (NPS) regularly hires between 7,000-8,000 seasonal employees, but these roles will be exempt from Trump’s federal hiring freeze, which he enacted on day one of his second administration.National park advocates have argued the job cuts paired with the hiring freeze could lead to trash piling up, facilities falling into disrepair and long wait times for park entries and reservations. In California, Yosemite National Park is bracing for its busiest season of the year amid a custodial staff shortage – and bathroom duty has now fallen on the park’s scientists, rangers, IT workers and even its leadership team Acting Superintendent Stephanie Burkhart’s office requested that the park’s division chiefs designate staff members to clean 10 campground restroom facilities in an uncovered internal email In February, Trump terminated thousands of national park and forest management employees in a maneuver by Elon Musk’s DOGE to slim the government and root out fraud, waste and abuse – a decision met with heavy scrutinyYosemite National Park seemingly shares those same fears. In an internal email shared with SFGate by a fellow employee, acting Superintendent Stephanie Burkhart’s office requested the park’s division chiefs designate staff members to clean 10 campground restroom facilities.Five divisions were outlined in the email – Interpretation & Education, Resources Management and Science, Information Technology, Commercial Services and Safety.’As Division Chiefs, you are being asked to look at your staff and identify staff that can be temporarily reassigned to custodial duties for Upper Pines campground restrooms, at least from 4/15 through 5/4,’ the email stated.Every year-round staff member employed within the Resources Management and Science Division – biologists, hydrologists, archaeologists and wildlife specialists – are required to pick up at least one cleaning shift, an employee revealed to the outlet.’I have signed up for it, but I don’t really have a choice in the matter,’ the employee said.’I’m not above cleaning a bathroom, but personally am sick of our leadership not pushing back on anything and just towing the line.’Staff members with the Yosemite Leadership Team will also be tasked with cleaning certain bathrooms to help fill the evident gap in staffing. Every year-round staff member employed within the Resources Management and Science Division – biologists, hydrologists, archaeologists and wildlife specialists – are required to pick up at least one cleaning shift The email also emphasized the park’s primary focus on ensuring a positive visitor experience, which, at this moment, means keeping the campground restrooms clean and ready for guests to use at all times’I’m curious to see how far up the chain of command this goes,’ Ken Yager, founder of the Yosemite Climbing Association and annual park cleanup event called Yosemite Facelift, told SFGate. ‘Is the superintendent expected to clean toilets?’ he asked. ‘I don’t want to insult anybody, but I’m curious. Are these division chiefs doing it?’In the uncovered email, the park’s leadership team explained how they explored other options for managing bathroom duties at Upper and Lower Pines Campgrounds, which have a staggering 308 spots in total.They considered several options: using volunteers, having campground hosts pitch in, bringing in seasonal workers earlier or hiring external cleaning services. However, the small team was unable to make any of these solutions work within the needed timeframe, according to the email. ‘We also considered portapotties in lieu of opening restrooms, but didn’t feel this was in the spirit of providing the exceptional visitor experience that visitors booked and are expecting,’ the email stated. ‘Especially when we have a number of permanent employees that can be trained to help out.’Attached to the email was a spreadsheet, showing which campground bathrooms each team would be in charge of handling. National park advocates have argued the job cuts paired with the hiring freeze could lead to trash piling up, facilities falling into disrepair and long wait times for park entries and reservations Reassigning staff to clean bathrooms follows Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s order to keep national parks ‘open and accessible’, with the email making it clear that staff should only be reassigned if it doesn’t hurt visitor access In the uncovered email, the park’s leadership team explained how they explored other options for managing bathroom duties at Upper and Lower Pines Campgrounds, which have a staggering 308 spots in total, but were unable to find solutions in the given timeframe For each bathroom, the email asked division chiefs to list two employees for the morning shift and two for the afternoon shift, ultimately covering a 20-day period. ‘It takes two people about 2-3 hours to clean 5 restrooms in the morning and then again in the afternoon,’ the email said.The email also emphasized the park’s primary focus on ensuring a positive visitor experience, which, at this moment, means keeping the campground restrooms clean and ready for guests to use at all times.However, reassigning staff to clean bathrooms follows Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s order to keep national parks ‘open and accessible’, with the email making it clear that staff should only be reassigned if it doesn’t hurt visitor access.Put simply, no employee should be taken away from other, more pressing visitor services just to clean bathrooms. Reassigned staff were also asked to attend custodial training and ‘any required safety training identified by our park safety officer’. Personal protective equipment and a job hazard analysis will be given to those tasked with restroom duty, the email said.On Thursday, Yosemite Gateway Partners held a public meeting in Yosemite Valley, where the park’s Chief of Staff, Joe Meyer, provided a staffing update, including details about reassigning duties.’We’re trying to hire as many people as possible. We’ve been approved to hire more than last year,’ Meyer told a group of marketing pros, conservationists, local business owners and others. Many believe this is just another attempt by the Trump administration to erode morale within the park, as the ‘educated’ people within the park service appear to be targeted by the cuts Although some key positions in the park remain unfilled, Yosemite’s Chief of Staff, Joe Meyer, explained that Washington is assisting with the hiring process, and new staff are now being onboarded ‘regularly’Although some key positions in the park remain unfilled, Meyer explained that Washington is assisting with the hiring process, and new staff are now being onboarded ‘regularly’. ‘There’s a lot of attention on campgrounds,’ Meyer said.’We’ve got about half the campgrounds open right now, and we’re looking at reassignments and other tactics to allow us to open more campgrounds and more facilities,’ he added.’So we’re shuffling, you know, within our staff to keep us as open and accessible as possible.’ The first, hour-long custodial training also took place on Thursday, where roughly 40 employees across all the park’s divisions learned about health risks, standard procedures and essential protective equipment. However, Yager is among many who believe this is just another attempt by the Trump administration to erode morale within the park. ‘It seems to target the scientific community of the park service – the educated,’ he told SFGate. ‘It’s not sustainable. People need to see that custodial workers are needed.’ Concerns are still growing among national park employees, especially as seasonal hiring remains delayed, recent court rulings allow temporary staff to be fired again and the Trump administration has offered a new round of buyouts The first, hour-long custodial training also took place on Thursday, where roughly 40 employees across all the park’s divisions learned about health risks, standard procedures and essential protective equipmentConcerns are still growing among national park employees, especially as seasonal hiring remains delayed, recent court rulings allow temporary staff to be fired again and the Trump administration has offered a new round of buyouts. ‘I still worry that further cuts will be made, and more work is going to be piled on to the few staff we still have when we are already stretched so thin,’ an employee told SFGate. ‘But at least we’re all in it together.’ In February, Trump terminated thousands of national park and forest management employees in a maneuver by Elon Musk’s DOGE to slim the government and root out fraud, waste and abuse – a decision met with heavy scrutiny.California Democrat Sen. Alex Padilla wrote on X: ‘Shameful. This means chaos in our National Parks, less health care for Native Americans, and a loss of technical staff who operate our water infrastructure in the West. Americans deserve better.’Colorado Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper similarly posted: ‘National parks are part of our way of life. They’re where Coloradans work and play. They’re how we protect our most cherished landscapes. They drive our economy.”These staffing cuts could run our national parks into disrepair and jeopardize the benefits they provide Coloradans,’ he continued. NPS employs 20,000 workers while the Forestry Service maintains approximately 35,0000 staff.The cuts were projected to shed about 5 and 10 percent of those agencies respectively. NPS employs 20,000 workers while the Forestry Service maintains approximately 35,0000 staff. The cuts were projected to shed about 5 and 10 percent of those agencies respectively Roughly 1,000 newly hired National Park Service (NPS) employees and about 3,400 US Forest Service workers were fired in February, sparking concerns that the administration’s actions could harm the country’s most sacred natural lands Despite the unexpected and forced career change, Yosemite employees became more open to learning from the maintenance staff during training, especially after witnessing their enthusiasm to teach the rest of the park about the ins and outs of their jobsWhen the cuts were announced, Yosemite National Park posted on social media that it was delaying reservations for many popular campsites. Despite the unexpected and forced career change, employees became more open to learning from the maintenance staff during training, especially after witnessing their enthusiasm to teach the rest of the park about the ins and outs of their jobs.’At the end of the training, someone said, “I’m proud to be wearing the same uniform as everyone else here, and I’m proud to be your colleague,”‘ an employee told SFGate.’I found this inspiring.’
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