Stephanie Armour
CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. — When Azania Lane-Majestic arrived on the seaside together with her household, her preliminary pleasure gave solution to concern. No lifeguards may very well be seen regardless of heavy, pounding surf.
So she held the hand of her 8-year-old daughter every time they went within the water. And, simply in case, she went on-line and regarded up find out how to spot and escape a riptide.
“The presence of lifeguards provides an extra level of security,” stated Lane-Majestic, of Pittsburgh. “Lifeguards are an important extra set of eyes.”
Just as scores of vacationers descend on nationwide parks for summer season enjoyable and, in fact, the July Fourth weekend, sure seashores on the National Park Service are curbing lifeguard hours. Some are nonetheless attempting to employees up. And at the least some seashores at standard federal parks are open for swimming with no lifeguards in any respect.
The purpose: The Trump administration slashed jobs, offered buyouts to employees, and implemented a hiring freeze on the park service. State and native lawmakers, in addition to some advocacy teams, say the actions have created a dangerous state of affairs by leaving some federal parks with a scarcity of lifeguards.
The National Park Service declined to handle particular questions on this example as a result of it’s thought of a personnel problem.
Fewer than half of the 7,700 seasonal federal park positions akin to lifeguards had been stuffed as of late May, stated Bill Wade, govt director of the Association of National Park Rangers, a membership group that has sought to get dismissed staff reinstated.
Some of the nation’s hottest seashores are managed by the National Park Service, which noticed about 1,000 employees laid off in February by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which was created by govt order and overseen by billionaire Elon Musk by way of May.
An estimated 2,500 everlasting park service staff — or about 13% of the full workforce — additionally accepted buyouts or early retirements provided by the Trump administration in its effort to downsize the federal authorities.
An administration freeze on seasonal hiring additionally delayed recruitment for lifeguard positions, Wade stated.
The park service shouldn’t be offering details about the affect the employment squeeze is having on lifeguard companies at nationwide parks as a result of park staffers have been advised to not focus on the problem, in line with a federal lawmaker, the affiliation, and native elected officers.
“They’ve been ordered not to give out any information to anyone because they’re calling it personnel-related,” stated Wade of the park ranger affiliation. “We can assume in some cases, because there are a lot of national parks with water, that there will be a shortage in some areas.”
Great Kills Park Beach on Staten Island in New York could have lifeguards solely on Saturdays and Sundays, though lifeguards staffed the seaside Thursdays by way of Sundays in earlier years, in line with info at present on the National Park Service’s web site and 2024 lifeguard hours posted by the National Park Planner, a nongovernment useful resource on greater than 160 National Park Service websites.
And the protection of swimmers on the Gateway National Recreational Area’s Sandy Hook, a 6-mile-long barrier seaside peninsula in New Jersey, may very well be in danger, stated Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). He is asking on the Trump administration to answer questions by June 30 about why the National Park Service is “failing to hire the necessary lifeguards” and different important personnel, in line with a June 9 letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
“This unprecedented situation extends to the staff of National Park Service (NPS) units, who you have forbidden from communicating with Congressional offices without express permission from DOI headquarters — approval which never arrives,” he wrote. “I am gravely concerned about the ramifications of the Trump Administration’s policies on Sandy Hook’s future as a place for safe recreation.”
The Department of the Interior declined to touch upon the letter however stated lifeguard shortages are a nationwide concern, even exterior of public lands.
“At the National Park Service, we are expecting our lifeguard staffing to pick up as summer goes on,” stated Interior spokesperson J. Elizabeth Peace. “We appreciate the public’s understanding and cooperation as we work to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all.”
It’s vital for the general public to learn to acknowledge hazards akin to riptides, she stated, and they need to perceive that ocean swimming is totally different from swimming in a lake or pool. People must be alert for robust ocean currents, highly effective waves, and underwater obstacles, they usually shouldn’t flip their again on the ocean as a result of they danger being knocked down by bigger, sudden waves.
Pallone stated an absence of disclosure concerning the standing of lifeguard staffing is obstructing Congress from oversight about whether or not Sandy Hook could be safely visited.
“This is a life-or-death issue,” Pallone stated in an interview. “When there are no lifeguards, people swim anyway. There are some bad currents. There is a lack of transparency. The purpose of the letter is to ask what’s going on.”
Each yr, about 4,000 people drown within the United States, in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the second-leading reason behind unintentional harm dying for youngsters ages 5 by way of 14.
About 50%-75% of drownings happen in open water akin to oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds. Some estimates point out that the possibility of drowning at a seaside protected by lifeguards could be lower than 1 in 18 million, in line with the CDC.
The affect of the administration’s actions on lifeguards at nationwide parks has been a priority of the United States Lifesaving Association, a nonprofit for seaside lifeguards and open water rescuers, stated B. Chris Brewster, chair of the group’s nationwide certification committee.
“The lack of lifeguards will undoubtedly result in death and injury that would otherwise be prevented,” he stated in an electronic mail.
The park service cuts come amid an overall national shortage in lifeguards that already raises the chance for swimming at seashores and swimming pools. About a 3rd of the nation’s 309,000 public swimming swimming pools remained closed or opened sporadically final yr because of the scarcity, in line with the American Lifeguard Association.
The scarcity is hitting the city of Chincoteague’s standard seaside simply because the excessive season kicks in. The seaside is understood for its wild ponies — popularized by the ebook “Misty of Chincoteague” — that may be seen roaming Assateague Island National Seashore, a 37-mile-plus barrier island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia.
Assateague’s southern entrance in Virginia is a part of a nationwide wildlife refuge, and its northern entrance is in Maryland. The park service manages a lot of the Maryland district and the leisure seaside inside the Chincoteague refuge. There have been just lately no lifeguards on obligation in both state on the leisure seashores in Assateague Island National Seashore.
Lifeguards have been liable for dozens of rescues final yr. This yr, on June 10, amid the uneven surf, a 4-year-old baby was rescued by a bystander, in line with the Chincoteague mayor and posts on a city group’s Facebook web page.
“That little boy’s family would be planning his funeral right now and only if they were able to recover the body,” one resident posted. “This lifeguard issue is VERY REAL…VERY SERIOUS.”
Chincoteague Mayor Denise Bowden stated she’s been given various causes for the dearth of lifeguards, together with no cash for hiring and the federal price range freeze. She worries the native emergency medical companies will probably be stretched skinny responding to calls about swimmers that might usually be dealt with by lifeguards.
“It’s a political game, and they’re playing with people’s lives. I can’t stomach that,” Bowden stated.
Lifeguard shortages additionally might pose an financial hit to the world if guests, particularly households with younger kids, keep away. On the best way to the seaside on the Virginia aspect, a flashing signal just lately warned of no lifeguards, as did indicators erected within the sand. Several guests stated they weren’t conscious of the state of affairs till they arrived.
Lizzie Dattilio, of Hagerstown, Maryland, has come to the world for years and values the lifeguards who’ve helped shield her 4 kids, ages 10, 7, 5, and three, she stated. She was shocked that the massive white stands the place lifeguards sometimes perch have been gone.
“We didn’t realize there weren’t lifeguards,” she stated whereas watching her kids run towards the surf. “It’s crazy.”
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