Potential risks to visitor safety due to budget reductions affecting national park staffing during the summer season
Assateague Island National Seashore, a popular destination for beachgoers, is facing a critical shortage of lifeguards this summer, leading to shuttered lifeguard towers and significant safety concerns among visitors and local officials.
This staffing shortage is largely due to personnel and budgetary cuts implemented during the Trump administration. The administration's measures, which included federal hiring freezes and budget reductions, have resulted in a 24% reduction in permanent staffing system-wide since 2017, and less than half of seasonal lifeguard positions being filled nationally.
At Assateague Beach, the absence of federal lifeguards for the summer of 2025 is particularly noticeable. This shortage has sparked concerns about increased drowning risks and emergency response strain. Local leaders, such as Chincoteague Mayor Denise Bowden, have highlighted the dangerous implications of these cuts, describing the lack of lifeguards as “playing with fire” and warning of potentially devastating consequences for beach safety and local emergency services already stretched thin.
Zack Tyndall, a former firefighter paramedic and the mayor of Berlin, Maryland, is deeply concerned about the situation. He is no stranger to Assateague Island, a 37-mile-long island shared by Maryland and Virginia, which attracts millions of visitors each year. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 calls for a more than $1 billion cut to the National Park Service, the largest such cut in its history, further compounding the issue.
The National Park Service has acknowledged the lifeguard shortage as a nationwide concern and indicated an expectation that staffing would improve as summer progresses. However, as of early July 2025, the shortage remains acute, raising ongoing concerns about visitor safety.
The future implications of these staffing cuts include continued risk to visitor safety at Assateague Island and other national park beaches due to insufficient lifeguard coverage, increased burden on local emergency medical services, potentially reduced public confidence and visitation experience, and pressure on the National Park Service and Department of the Interior to restore lifeguard staffing levels to safer and more sustainable standards.
In summary, the Trump administration's budget and hiring cuts have led to a significant and dangerous reduction in lifeguard staffing at Assateague Island National Seashore, with serious safety concerns and challenging future implications for both visitors and local emergency responders.
- The shortage of lifeguards at Assateague Island National Seashore, which is causing concern among visitors and local officials, can be traced back to the Trump administration's measures, including federal hiring freezes and budget reductions, that have led to a 24% reduction in permanent staffing system-wide since 2017.
- The proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 calls for a more than $1 billion cut to the National Park Service, the largest such cut in its history, further compounding the issue of insufficient lifeguard coverage at Assateague Island and other national park beaches.
- Zack Tyndall, a former firefighter paramedic and the mayor of Berlin, Maryland, has highlighted the dangerous implications of the Trump administration's cuts, describing the lack of lifeguards as “playing with fire” and warning of potentially devastating consequences for beach safety and local emergency services already stretched thin.
