National Park service to improve employee living quarters

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Today, the National Park Foundation (NPF) in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) disclosed a generous donation of $40 million aimed at enhancing and enlarging the housing available to NPS employees at Yellowstone National Park, the inaugural national park of the United States. This substantial contribution, kindly provided by anonymous benefactors, will be utilized to construct over 70 new modular homes to alleviate the pressing housing shortage faced by park employees. This issue is part of a broader national trend where affordable housing near national parks is becoming increasingly rare and costly, leading to long commutes for park employees and challenges in staffing retention and recruitment for the NPS. National parks across the country are struggling to offer quality accommodations for their workforce, which includes rangers, resource specialists, maintenance crews, and other vital staff dedicated to preserving the parks and delivering exceptional experiences to a growing number of visitors—totaling 325.5 million last year.

“This transformational gift will meet a critical need for new housing in Yellowstone, and be a catalyst for more philanthropic investment,” said Will Shafroth, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation. “These skilled, dedicated professionals at the National Park Service who protect our parks and make visitors’ experiences great deserve housing they can be proud to call home.”

However, this challenge extends beyond Yellowstone. The NPS employs 20,000 individuals across 429 parks in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories. Overall, the system encompasses over 5,600 housing units in more than 200 parks, varying from century-old cabins to contemporary dormitories and duplexes, situated in both urban and remote locations. These homes support over 15,600 people, including 2,800 permanent and 5,000 seasonal staff, volunteers, concessionaire workers, and employees from partner organizations.

“The housing challenges facing each park are unique, and so are the solutions,” said Chuck Sams, Director of the National Park Service. “The ability to recruit and retain a talented workforce remains essential to our ability to protect parks and to ensure a world-class visitor experience. NPS is committed to innovative solutions that contribute to meeting the demand for employee housing across the National Park System. I am incredibly grateful to the donors to the National Park Foundation whose tremendous generosity will help NPS address this critical need.”

The current housing shortfall stems from various issues, such as increasing real estate values around parks and a surge in demand for vacation rentals near these areas. The NPS allocates tens of millions annually towards housing maintenance, repair, construction, and leasing in nearby communities when in-park housing falls short. The $40 million donation is a pivotal move, enabling the construction of new housing in Yellowstone National Park.

“This gift will be transformational in helping us continue improving employee housing across Yellowstone,” said Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly. “Our thanks to the donors for their generosity and commitment to meet the needs of park employees and to the Park Foundation for its leadership and continued partnership.” 

An NPF assessment at three other national parks—Acadia, Yosemite, and Grand Teton—indicated a collective need for over $115 million to add more than 200 new employee housing units. Private donations play a crucial role in hastening improvements across the National Park System. The $40 million gift not only addresses Yellowstone’s immediate housing needs but also serves as a model for funding employee housing projects in national parks nationwide. Construction of the new units at Yellowstone is scheduled to commence later this year.

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