"On March 1, under a clear sky, hundreds of people flocked to Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park—not to picnic but to protest. Two weeks earlier, the National Park Service had fired roughly 1,000 employees.
A group of guides hiked up a bluff and hung an American flag upside down from its face. Protesters lined the road to the park’s entrance, carrying signs and chanting “Save our parks!” Among them were the park’s former superintendent, terminated probationary employees, and a 97-year-old who had spent many years as a park volunteer.
The protest was one of nearly 150 held across the country that day thanks to Resistance Rangers—a group of 1,000 off-duty and former Park Service employees who are pushing back against the Trump administration. The group plans actions, shares information about cuts to programs and threats to public lands, and preserves disappearing park web pages.
“We are advocating for our places, for the stories we protect, and for each other as people who work to fulfill that mission,” said Robin, a Resistance Ranger who was fired in February and, like some other Resistance Rangers quoted, asked that their name be changed to avoid retaliation. “One of our goals is just to raise the visibility of harms that are coming, if we can, before they hit. Because once something has happened, it is so much more complicated to un-ring that bell.”
More than 20,000 employees at the National Park Service help manage approximately 85 million acres at 433 sites. These include beloved parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone as well as national monuments, battlefields, historic sites, seashores, rivers, and trails—even the White House and President’s Park."
Juliet Grable reports for Sierra magazine September 12, 2025.
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