How Will The National Park Layoffs Affect Montana?

By now, you've probably heard that several Forest Department and National Park employees are being laid off. While this won't affect much of the country, it will certainly impact Montana.

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According to CBS News, the new Trump administration has cut 10 percent of the workforce from the U.S. Forest Department and 5 percent from the National Park Service.

While Trump carried the state of Montana with huge numbers, you have to wonder how some Montanans will feel about his latest cuts, especially since they will result in Montanans losing their jobs.

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According to sources, one of the spots that will see a reduction in force will be Yellowstone National Park. I'm not here to question the President, nor do I want to turn this into a bashing opportunity (it's ok to support someone and not agree with everything they do) but some may wonder why in the world you would let go of staff at one of the busiest spots in the world.

According to US Culture, Yellowstone had just shy of 4.5 million visitors last year, putting it in 4th place among the most visited National Parks. The only 3 places with more visitors were Zion National Park in Utah, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and the Great Smokey Mountains (which will also see a reduction in force).

According to those rankings, Montana's other big attraction Glacier National Park hosted just under 3 million people last year. When you combine the two, that's almost 8 times the number of people that live in Montana.

What do the National Park layoffs mean for Montana?

That's a great question. At this time, no one knows. As with anything political, emotions are running high and people are taking to social media to express their views for or against the moves.

Most would agree that our Federal Government is long past due for an audit, however, as a Montanan and supporter of fellow Montanans, I have to wonder if there weren't any other cuts that could be made before this one.

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Tourism is one of the biggest economic factors for the state, and both Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks are a huge reason behind that. Not to mention that much of western Montana is covered in forests, so will these moves affect how we deal with fires?

It seems that only time will tell. How do you feel? Do you agree with the cuts? Yay or nay? Let us know by sending us a message on our station app.