Eliminated Seashore Positions Reinstated

WELLFLEET – Three employees that were laid off from the Cape Cod National Seashore are having their jobs reinstated, at least for now.

The positions — a biologist, an archeologist and a park ranger — were eliminated last month as part of an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to downsize and weed out wasteful spending in the federal government.

In a statement Friday, the National Park Service said the positions are being brought back due to a “court order” by the Department of the Interior.

“All impacted employees will receive back pay, and the department will ensure continued compensation as the White House pursues its appeals process,” the statement read.

According to the National Parks Traveler, approximately 1,000 jobs were lost in February across the National Park Service, which operates under the Interior Department. That’s half of the overall 2,000 jobs that were cut within the department as a whole.

A spokesperson for the Cape Cod National Seashore deferred questions regarding a timeline for the three employees’ reinstatement to the National Park Service. But David Bernstein, chair of the nonprofit Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore, said Monday that at least two of three employees have already returned to work, and that they’re guaranteed to have their jobs for at least 45 days.

“What happens after those 45 days is unknown,” he said.

The reinstated positions are a welcome return to the Seashore, Bernstein said, noting that an additional seven positions that are vacant are not likely to be filled anytime soon.
“Some people might say ‘Well that’s only seven.’ Well we only have about 60 (employees),” he said.

Meanwhile, Seashore staff are in the process of hiring seasonal employees for the summer months. Bernstein said between 100 and 110 temporary workers are hired each summer season, and while staff are slightly behind schedule, he’s hopeful a full complement of seasonal employees will return to the park.

But the back and forth in Washington over the status of jobs within the Seashore and other national parks makes it hard for the parks and their supporters to take comfort in staffing, Bernstein said.

“It’s hard to be in that unknown [place],” he said. “Am I here? Am I not here? Am I going to be here? And I think there are many people throughout all the parks, not just our park, who are unsure.”

Bernstein said that visitors to the Seashore bring in more than $500 million a year to the local economy. But he expressed concern about how the uncertainty around staffing throughout the park service could impact visitation this season.

“These parks spend less than they make,” he said. “They bring more money into the economy of wherever the park is than they’re budgeted. They’re a natural place to keep going, because you want to bring in as many people as you can.”

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com