What spending cuts in the 'big beautiful bill' could mean for National Parks in Georgia

National Parks face staffing cuts amid budget slash

Conservancy groups say the National Park Service will be impacted by the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ approved by Congress this week. The National Parks Conservation Association says the bill claws back $267-million of previously committed funding for park staffing nationwide.

National park advocates are sounding the alarm after lawmakers voted to pull back more than $250 million from the National Park Service, which they say could affect staffing at locations like the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

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What we know:

Conservancy groups say the National Park Service will be impacted by the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Friday during the White House’s Fourth of July festivities.

"This is a triumph of democracy on the birthday of democracy," the president said. "It's the most popular bill ever signed in the history of our country, whether you're military or anybody else. This is the most single, most popular bill ever signed."

The National Parks Conservation Association says the bill claws back $267-million of previously committed funding for park staffing nationwide.

The group says the funding loss will impact parks from coast to coast, including ones right here in Georgia like the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and the Martin Luther King Junior National Historical Park.

The National Parks Conservation Association says it comes as the park service has already lost 24% of its permanent staff this year.

More funding is on the chopping block. In May, the Trump Administration released its 2026 budget recommendation, which aims to slash more than a billion dollars of funding from the park service.

The National Parks Conservation Association said the park service has been underfunded for a while, and they are calling on Congress to change that and not make it worse.

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What they're saying:

 The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is a popular place; Just ask Christa Russie who comes here several times a year.

"It is a lovely place to go when it's hot," she said. "Looking around us for other things to do in the city, it would be a couple hundred dollars to bring the whole family, so this is a nice and inexpensive way to get out and enjoy the day."

But this place could soon face some trouble as Congress pulls back some funding.

"Without these kinds of critical resources and without the ability to hire our staff, we fear that the resources that people are going to see will be hurt," said Chad Lord, with the National Parks Conservation Association. "Those open spaces might look like you can just go and visit them, but they do take individuals to be able to preserve them for future generations."

For visitors to the Chattahoochee River on Friday, the cuts are bad news.

"This is a place that requires a lot of upkeep and a lot of maintenance, and once it starts getting bad, then it just continues to do so and fewer, fewer people come," Russie said.