The CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association says the directive from President Trump will impact 34 facilities nationwide. San Antonio is no exception.
SAN ANTONIO — Nearly three dozen National Parks visitors centers, museums and law enforcement facilities are shutting down.
San Antonio is no exception.
Park Headquarters for our historic Missions is set to close in a matter of weeks.
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) says it’s another directive from President Trump.
KENS 5 learned the impact for the state’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The NPCA says the White House is targeting 34 places, telling them to cancel their lease.
The National Parks Service just lost 9% of their workforce last month.
Preservation groups fear these actions are pushing our parks past the point of no return.
“These closures will cripple the Park Service’s ability to operate parks safely and will mean millions of irreplaceable artifacts will be left vulnerable or worse, lost,” said Theresa Pierno, President and CEO for the NPCA. “Quite simply and astonishingly, this is dismantling the National Park Service as we know it, ranger by ranger and brick by brick.”
Across Roosevelt from Riverside Golf Course, down the road from Mission San Jose, is the San Antonio Missions Park Headquarters.
“If you want to go learn about the history of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, learn about the history of San Antonio and how it came to be as a city, you’d go to that facility,” said Cristobal Lopez, Texas Field Representative for the NPCA, who used to work out of the same facility has a historian intern.
Missions Park Headquarters houses a library and historical artifacts. Multiple National Parks Service employees including maintenance, IT and first responders office out of the building, too.
“Who work every day to ensure the 1.2 million visitors that San Antonio Missions see a year are safe, protected,” Lopez explained.
Now, the facility is in jeopardy. The NPCA says the Trump Administration told the National Parks Service to cancel their lease for the 34 buildings and close in the coming weeks.
There’s no telling what comes next for personnel and the history inside. Lopez, like many associated with the historic Missions, learn information as executive orders are released.
The uncertainty is one of a multitude of reasons why Lopez is in Washington, D.C. this week. He joined a small coalition of advocates to plead with Congress to protect our Missions.
“We’re up here together side by side calling on Congress to take action,” said Lopez. “Help tackle some of these issues such as crime and vandalism that affect San Antonio Missions.”
Lopez’s work with the NPCA to help safeguard our national parks, a mission they’ve continued for more than a century. Alongside him were members of Mission Heritage Partners, a non-profit who also works to preserve, protect and promote San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.
For the past year, advocates have worked to boost resources for park rangers — especially as the number of park visitors nationwide continues to rise. Lopez says since 2010, the National Parks Service has seen a 20% decrease in overall staffing while at the same time experiencing a 16% bump in visitors.
Lopez says the National Parks Service makes up one-fifteenth of one-percent of the annual federal budget.
“The National Park Service is rated as one of the most, if not the most favorited federal agency by the public,” Lopez explained. “People love national parks and it’s unfortunate they’ve become a political issue.”
The job cuts that took effect February 14 included maintenance workers, administrative staff, culture resource rangers and interpreters who had the job for less than a year. The layoffs came right before Spring Break, the busiest time for National Parks.
The NPCA said the effects we’re likely to see impact security, park hours and wait times to enter the parks.