President Donald Trump’s promise to reduce the federal government has hit the national parks and national forests.

The Associated Press reports 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees have been laid off. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed to GV Wire that 2,000 probationary employees with the U.S. Forest Service have been severed.

A spokesperson with the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the agency needs to eliminate inefficiencies in government. The spokesperson said former President Joe Biden hired those employees with “no plan in place to pay them long term.”

The Forest Service did not have details on if or how many staff at the Sierra National Forest were affected.

“We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy,” the spokesperson said. “As part of this effort, USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service. To be clear, none of these individuals were operational firefighters.”

Related Story: Yosemite National Park Braces for a Staffing and Conservation Crisis

Yosemite’s Reservation System Still Not Live

Emails sent to the National Park Service were not returned before publication of this story. However, some of the layoffs are affecting Yosemite National Park.

“Fewer staff means shorter visitor center hours, delayed openings and closed campgrounds,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group, according to the Associated Press.

The Washington Post reports the park’s only locksmith was laid off.

The park’s reservation system has also not been updated, even though reservations are required to visit the park between April and October. The park regularly hosts millions of visitors each year, with 3.9 million visits in 2023, according to the National Park Service.

Layoffs were restricted to probationary employees.

“Yosemite National Park anticipates sharing details about this year’s reservation system early in 2025,” the park’s website states. “We recognize the importance of providing clarity on that system as soon as possible to accommodate peak summer season travel planning. We are grateful for the robust public engagement in this process to shape an improved and sustainable visitor experience.”