YORKTOWN — A grassroots group of concerned citizens will rally in support of National Parks at noon Monday, March 3, at the Yorktown Beach Picnic Area.
The “Protect Your Parks” Rally will protest recent layoffs and any further de-funding of National Parks, according to the group.
“We are alarmed at the indiscriminate firings and degrading treatment of NPS employees,” it said in a press announcement. “It takes sufficient highly-trained park personnel to keep our parks safe and well maintained, and recent cuts threaten the very mission of the National Park Service: ‘to conserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.'”
Citing the National Parks Conservation Association, the group said funding for National Parks has long been inadequate to keep up with increasing visitation, and that new cuts will have far-reaching impacts on the integrity of the parks and further negative economic effects on the communities that surround them.
The group also noted that Colonial National Historical Park received more than 3 million visitors in 2021 who spent $336,833,000 in nearby communities — spending that supported 5,039 jobs, according to a 2022 NPS report.
