Forty-five Seasonal Worker Jobs in Acadia National Park Are Online Again
BAR HARBOR—Currently, 45 seasonal jobs for Acadia National Park are online again. The six position categories call for a total of 45 workers are posted at USA Jobs. The website is where federal service jobs are listed.
The Associated Press reports that the Trump administration is now restoring dozens of National Park Service jobs as well as hiring seasonal workers. The move follows firings and downsizing of the National Park Service.
Beneath at least some of the job listings, the site reads, “This open-continuous announcement for temporary seasonal positions has been re-opened due to an exemption to the 2025 Civilian Hiring Freeze. If you previously applied to this announcement, you do not need to re-apply.”
Currently, the six position types listed for Acadia workers are for maintenance, trail workers, laborers, and motor vehicle operators and total 45 separate job opportunities.
The 45 seasonal jobs come after all seasonal hiring was originally frozen and offers of employment were rescinded.
Each year, Acadia fills approximately 115 seasonal jobs, though it typically has more than 150 open positions. For some jobs—such as those handling money or dispatch and law enforcement positions—extensive and lengthy background checks are required. For example, even if the seasonal toll operating positions are refilled, it could take well past the typical season’s start before there are enough employees in place. It often takes 6-12 months to fill vacant positions.
“Acadia’s staff are the backbone of the park. They protect its natural beauty, keep the trails in top shape, and make sure visitors have an unforgettable experience. Seeing these members of our community laid off is both heartbreaking and baffling—especially when the cuts affect fee collectors who bring in critical revenue and trail crews supported by private funding from Friends of Acadia’s trail maintenance endowment,” Friends of Acadia President and CEO Eric Stiles said last week.
Approximately a week ago, eight probationary year-round employees had been fired by the Department of Interior. Probationary employees (who are not veterans or have disabilities) are hired employees in their first year of employment at that position.
The park has approximately 100 year-round positions and about 75% of those had been filled prior to the cuts.
According to the Associated Press, “The moves come as the park service said in a new memo that it will hire up to 7,700 seasonal positions this year, up from about 5,000 promised earlier this week and higher than the three-year average of 6,350 seasonal workers. The park service has about 20,000 employees.”
Approximately 1,000 year-round positions in the National Park Service were fired, Feb. 14. The National Forest Service lost 3,000 employees.
According to the New York Times, “The park service usually operates with about 20,000 total employees, including approximately 7,000 seasonal workers. National Parks maintain approximately 433 sites on 85 million acres and welcome approximately 325 million visits. Acadia National Park has been hosting approximately 4 million visits in the past few years.
The Associated Press also reports that “at least 50 jobs are being restored to help maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and collect admission fees, according to two people familiar with the agency’s plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.”
Those employees are for the entire system, not just Acadia National Park.
Senator Susan Collins (Maine-R) has said Acadia National Park will “not be able to hire the seasonal employees required to collect entrance fees and perform other essential tasks such as maintaining trails and providing first responder services to visitors.”
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While it is good to have seasonal workers, many are entirely unfamiliar with Acadia. The supervision and mentoring of year round Acadia staff is essential to successfully serving the public. And these are the people MuskTrump has fired.
Thank you very much for the update. As a past Acadia National Park Ranger, I know how very important this work is, and how understaffed our national parks already have been. Can you find out about the 8 year-round workers who were in their 1st year here in Acadia; if they are being re-hired? To these eight; the national park service is a calling, as those who choose this career do so out of service; not for the money.