Earlier this week, the US Department of Agriculture rescinded the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Clinton-era environmental regulation protected nearly 59 million acres of wild forest land. California’s wild forests account for roughly 4.5 million of those acres.
20 California national forests, including parts of Tahoe, Inyo, Sequoia, and Stanislaus, are effectively deregulated and open for development.
This is just the latest federal attack on public lands. Since February, deep cuts to the federal workforce under the Trump administration have thinned National Park Service staff, reduced services, and made access to nature more difficult for the public.
KALW asked people at Transamerica Redwood Park, a privately owned public open space (POPOS) in the heart of the financial district, how federal park cuts are reshaping their access to nature this summer.
In the redwood-lined plaza, San Francisco resident Jessica Neighbor said she’s strongly against cuts to the National Park Service.
“I am a total outdoorsy person, and I'm totally against it. I was just commenting on this beautiful little pocket park," she said, gesturing towards the young redwoods next to us. "It’s an oasis in the middle of the city and we don't have enough of them to begin with.”
When asked about opening wild forest land to road development, logging and mining, she said it’s more than a terrible idea, it's a violation.
“I hike in the redwoods with my Australian Shepherd. I camp in the Mojave. I mean, these places are sacred, so they shouldn't be sold off. I'm totally against it. Totally against it.”
The Trump Administration says rescinding the rule is a protective measure. According to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, the change enables the government to build roads to reach 28 million acres at high risk of wildfire. She also said canceling the rule aligns with Trump’s deregulation efforts.
California officials aren’t sure yet what deregulating protected wild forests will mean. According to National Park advocates, what’s most evident right now is the impact of firing 1,000 national park service probationary employees. Yosemite, for example, was forced to delay summer campsite reservations until early May.
Long time San Francisco resident, Liz London, told us she didn’t see the impact of budget cuts when she camped at Hendy Woods State Park over Memorial Day weekend.
“It was very full, but I didn't notice that there was a reduction in staff,” she said. “That's like, a really busy weekend also, like everybody wants to camp that weekend. So it was good. The bathrooms were clean.”
Like national parks, state parks like Hendy Woods, also face budget cuts.
The California state legislature announced a 2025-26 budget agreement earlier this month, eliminating nearly seven million dollars for the California State Library Parks Pass. The pass gives library card holders access to 200 state parks and beaches. The program will end in December, if funding isn’t restored.
Across from the Transamerica Redwood Park's water fountain, Eric Lampman Shaver expressed concern about the cuts. He says spending time outdoors was how he built community when he moved to the Bay Area two years ago.
“Being outside in the national, state, and local parks has been a huge way that I felt integrated into this community and something that I care about deeply. And I think cuts to parks, federal, state, local, are an attack on that community.”
In a statement to the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, Don Neurbacher, a former Yosemite superintendent, described the National Park situation as a “crisis.” The impact of federal cuts are already noticeable in beloved places like Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave desert.
Fifteen-year old Kai Griswold loves camping and wants everyone to have access to the parks.
“ I think that there should be a lot more funding for public parks to protect them and to have more visitors come in and to keep them open for everyone,” Kai said. “I think everyone should have access to them. I don't think there should be cutbacks.”
The combination of budget cuts and deregulation of undeveloped national forests poses a threat to ecosystems and how Californians enjoy nature. But we’ll have to wait and see what the full impact may be.
