CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. — When Azania Lane-Majestic arrived at the beach with her family, her initial excitement gave way to concern. No lifeguards could be seen despite heavy, pounding surf.
So she held the hand of her 8-year-old daughter whenever they went in the water. And, just in case, she went online and looked up how to spot and escape a riptide.
“The presence of lifeguards provides an extra level of security,” said Lane-Majestic, of Pittsburgh. “Lifeguards are an important extra set of eyes.”
Just as scores of vacationers descend on national parks for summer fun and, of course, the July Fourth weekend, certain beaches at the National Park Service are curtailing lifeguard hours. Some are still trying to staff up. And at least some beaches at popular federal parks are open for swimming with no lifeguards at all.
The reason: The Trump administration slashed jobs, offered buyouts to employees, and implemented a hiring freeze at the park service. State and local lawmakers, as well as some advocacy groups, say the actions have created a risky situation by leaving some federal parks with a shortage of lifeguards.
The National Park Service declined to address specific questions about this situation because it is considered a personnel issue.
Fewer than half of the 7,700 seasonal federal park positions such as lifeguards had been filled as of late May, said Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, a membership group that has sought to get dismissed employees reinstated.
Some of the nation’s most popular beaches are managed by the National Park Service, which saw about 1,000 employees laid off in February by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which was created by executive order and overseen by billionaire Elon Musk through May.
An estimated 2,500 permanent park service workers — or about 13% of the total workforce — also accepted buyouts or early retirements offered by the Trump administration in its effort to downsize the federal government.
An administration freeze on seasonal hiring also delayed recruitment for lifeguard positions, Wade said.
The park service is not providing information about the impact the employment squeeze is having on lifeguard services at national parks because park staffers have been told not to discuss the issue, according to a federal lawmaker, the association, and local elected officials.
“They’ve been ordered not to give out any information to anyone because they’re calling it personnel-related,” said Wade of the park ranger association. “We can assume in some cases, because there are a lot of national parks with water, that there will be a shortage in some areas.”
Great Kills Park Beach on Staten Island in New York will have lifeguards only on Saturdays and Sundays, although lifeguards staffed the beach Thursdays through Sundays in previous years, according to information currently on the National Park Service’s website and 2024 lifeguard hours posted by the National Park Planner, a nongovernment resource on more than 160 National Park Service sites.
And the safety of swimmers at the Gateway National Recreational Area’s Sandy Hook, a 6-mile-long barrier beach peninsula in New Jersey, could be at risk, said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). He is calling on the Trump administration to answer questions by June 30 about why the National Park Service is “failing to hire the necessary lifeguards” and other essential personnel, according to a June 9 letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
“This unprecedented situation extends to the staff of National Park Service (NPS) units, who you have forbidden from communicating with Congressional offices without express permission from DOI headquarters — approval which never arrives,” he wrote. “I am gravely concerned about the ramifications of the Trump Administration’s policies on Sandy Hook’s future as a place for safe recreation.”
The Department of the Interior declined to comment on the letter but said lifeguard shortages are a nationwide concern, even outside of public lands.
“At the National Park Service, we are expecting our lifeguard staffing to pick up as summer goes on,” said Interior spokesperson J. Elizabeth Peace. “We appreciate the public’s understanding and cooperation as we work to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all.”
It’s important for the public to learn how to recognize hazards such as riptides, she said, and they should understand that ocean swimming is different from swimming in a lake or pool. People should be alert for strong ocean currents, powerful waves, and underwater obstacles, and they shouldn’t turn their back on the ocean because they risk being knocked down by larger, unexpected waves.
Pallone said a lack of disclosure about the status of lifeguard staffing is blocking Congress from oversight about whether Sandy Hook can be safely visited.
“This is a life-or-death issue,” Pallone said in an interview. “When there are no lifeguards, people swim anyway. There are some bad currents. There is a lack of transparency. The purpose of the letter is to ask what’s going on.”
Each year, about 4,000 people drown in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 through 14.
About 50%-75% of drownings occur in open water such as oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds. Some estimates indicate that the chance of drowning at a beach protected by lifeguards can be less than 1 in 18 million, according to the CDC.
The impact of the administration’s actions on lifeguards at national parks has been a concern of the United States Lifesaving Association, a nonprofit for beach lifeguards and open water rescuers, said B. Chris Brewster, chair of the group’s national certification committee.
“The lack of lifeguards will undoubtedly result in death and injury that would otherwise be prevented,” he said in an email.
The park service cuts come amid an overall national shortage in lifeguards that already raises the risk for swimming at beaches and pools. About a third of the country’s 309,000 public swimming pools remained closed or opened sporadically last year due to the shortage, according to the American Lifeguard Association.
The shortage is hitting the town of Chincoteague’s popular beach just as the high season kicks in. The beach is known for its wild ponies — popularized by the book “Misty of Chincoteague” — that can be seen roaming Assateague Island National Seashore, a 37-mile-plus barrier island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia.
Assateague’s southern entrance in Virginia is part of a national wildlife refuge, and its northern entrance is in Maryland. The park service manages most of the Maryland district and the recreational beach within the Chincoteague refuge. There were recently no lifeguards on duty in either state at the recreational beaches in Assateague Island National Seashore.
Lifeguards were responsible for dozens of rescues last year. This year, on June 10, amid the choppy surf, a 4-year-old child was rescued by a bystander, according to the Chincoteague mayor and posts on a town group’s Facebook page.
“That little boy’s family would be planning his funeral right now and only if they were able to recover the body,” one resident posted. “This lifeguard issue is VERY REAL…VERY SERIOUS.”
Chincoteague Mayor Denise Bowden said she’s been given varying reasons for the lack of lifeguards, including no money for hiring and the federal budget freeze. She worries the local emergency medical services will be stretched thin responding to calls about swimmers that would normally be handled by lifeguards.
“It’s a political game, and they’re playing with people’s lives. I can’t stomach that,” Bowden said.
Lifeguard shortages also could pose an economic hit to the area if visitors, especially families with young children, stay away. On the way to the beach on the Virginia side, a flashing sign recently warned of no lifeguards, as did signs erected in the sand. Several visitors said they weren’t aware of the situation until they arrived.
Lizzie Dattilio, of Hagerstown, Maryland, has come to the area for years and values the lifeguards who have helped protect her four children, ages 10, 7, 5, and 3, she said. She was surprised that the large white stands where lifeguards typically perch were gone.
“We didn’t realize there weren’t lifeguards,” she said while watching her children run toward the surf. “It’s crazy.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
USE OUR CONTENT
This story can be republished for free (details).
CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. — When Azania Lane-Majestic arrived at the beach with her family, her initial excitement gave way to concern. No lifeguards could be seen despite heavy, pounding surf.
So she held the hand of her 8-year-old daughter whenever they went in the water. And, just in case, she went online and looked up how to spot and escape a riptide.
“The presence of lifeguards provides an extra level of security,” said Lane-Majestic, of Pittsburgh. “Lifeguards are an important extra set of eyes.”
Just as scores of vacationers descend on national parks for summer fun and, of course, the July Fourth weekend, certain beaches at the National Park Service are curtailing lifeguard hours. Some are still trying to staff up. And at least some beaches at popular federal parks are open for swimming with no lifeguards at all.
The reason: The Trump administration slashed jobs, offered buyouts to employees, and implemented a hiring freeze at the park service. State and local lawmakers, as well as some advocacy groups, say the actions have created a risky situation by leaving some federal parks with a shortage of lifeguards.
The National Park Service declined to address specific questions about this situation because it is considered a personnel issue.
Fewer than half of the 7,700 seasonal federal park positions such as lifeguards had been filled as of late May, said Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, a membership group that has sought to get dismissed employees reinstated.
Some of the nation’s most popular beaches are managed by the National Park Service, which saw about 1,000 employees laid off in February by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which was created by executive order and overseen by billionaire Elon Musk through May.
An estimated 2,500 permanent park service workers — or about 13% of the total workforce — also accepted buyouts or early retirements offered by the Trump administration in its effort to downsize the federal government.
An administration freeze on seasonal hiring also delayed recruitment for lifeguard positions, Wade said.
The park service is not providing information about the impact the employment squeeze is having on lifeguard services at national parks because park staffers have been told not to discuss the issue, according to a federal lawmaker, the association, and local elected officials.
“They’ve been ordered not to give out any information to anyone because they’re calling it personnel-related,” said Wade of the park ranger association. “We can assume in some cases, because there are a lot of national parks with water, that there will be a shortage in some areas.”
Great Kills Park Beach on Staten Island in New York will have lifeguards only on Saturdays and Sundays, although lifeguards staffed the beach Thursdays through Sundays in previous years, according to information currently on the National Park Service’s website and 2024 lifeguard hours posted by the National Park Planner, a nongovernment resource on more than 160 National Park Service sites.
And the safety of swimmers at the Gateway National Recreational Area’s Sandy Hook, a 6-mile-long barrier beach peninsula in New Jersey, could be at risk, said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). He is calling on the Trump administration to answer questions by June 30 about why the National Park Service is “failing to hire the necessary lifeguards” and other essential personnel, according to a June 9 letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
“This unprecedented situation extends to the staff of National Park Service (NPS) units, who you have forbidden from communicating with Congressional offices without express permission from DOI headquarters — approval which never arrives,” he wrote. “I am gravely concerned about the ramifications of the Trump Administration’s policies on Sandy Hook’s future as a place for safe recreation.”
The Department of the Interior declined to comment on the letter but said lifeguard shortages are a nationwide concern, even outside of public lands.
“At the National Park Service, we are expecting our lifeguard staffing to pick up as summer goes on,” said Interior spokesperson J. Elizabeth Peace. “We appreciate the public’s understanding and cooperation as we work to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all.”
It’s important for the public to learn how to recognize hazards such as riptides, she said, and they should understand that ocean swimming is different from swimming in a lake or pool. People should be alert for strong ocean currents, powerful waves, and underwater obstacles, and they shouldn’t turn their back on the ocean because they risk being knocked down by larger, unexpected waves.
Pallone said a lack of disclosure about the status of lifeguard staffing is blocking Congress from oversight about whether Sandy Hook can be safely visited.
“This is a life-or-death issue,” Pallone said in an interview. “When there are no lifeguards, people swim anyway. There are some bad currents. There is a lack of transparency. The purpose of the letter is to ask what’s going on.”
Each year, about 4,000 people drown in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 through 14.
About 50%-75% of drownings occur in open water such as oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds. Some estimates indicate that the chance of drowning at a beach protected by lifeguards can be less than 1 in 18 million, according to the CDC.
The impact of the administration’s actions on lifeguards at national parks has been a concern of the United States Lifesaving Association, a nonprofit for beach lifeguards and open water rescuers, said B. Chris Brewster, chair of the group’s national certification committee.
“The lack of lifeguards will undoubtedly result in death and injury that would otherwise be prevented,” he said in an email.
The park service cuts come amid an overall national shortage in lifeguards that already raises the risk for swimming at beaches and pools. About a third of the country’s 309,000 public swimming pools remained closed or opened sporadically last year due to the shortage, according to the American Lifeguard Association.
The shortage is hitting the town of Chincoteague’s popular beach just as the high season kicks in. The beach is known for its wild ponies — popularized by the book “Misty of Chincoteague” — that can be seen roaming Assateague Island National Seashore, a 37-mile-plus barrier island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia.
Assateague’s southern entrance in Virginia is part of a national wildlife refuge, and its northern entrance is in Maryland. The park service manages most of the Maryland district and the recreational beach within the Chincoteague refuge. There were recently no lifeguards on duty in either state at the recreational beaches in Assateague Island National Seashore.
Lifeguards were responsible for dozens of rescues last year. This year, on June 10, amid the choppy surf, a 4-year-old child was rescued by a bystander, according to the Chincoteague mayor and posts on a town group’s Facebook page.
“That little boy’s family would be planning his funeral right now and only if they were able to recover the body,” one resident posted. “This lifeguard issue is VERY REAL…VERY SERIOUS.”
Chincoteague Mayor Denise Bowden said she’s been given varying reasons for the lack of lifeguards, including no money for hiring and the federal budget freeze. She worries the local emergency medical services will be stretched thin responding to calls about swimmers that would normally be handled by lifeguards.
“It’s a political game, and they’re playing with people’s lives. I can’t stomach that,” Bowden said.
Lifeguard shortages also could pose an economic hit to the area if visitors, especially families with young children, stay away. On the way to the beach on the Virginia side, a flashing sign recently warned of no lifeguards, as did signs erected in the sand. Several visitors said they weren’t aware of the situation until they arrived.
Lizzie Dattilio, of Hagerstown, Maryland, has come to the area for years and values the lifeguards who have helped protect her four children, ages 10, 7, 5, and 3, she said. She was surprised that the large white stands where lifeguards typically perch were gone.
“We didn’t realize there weren’t lifeguards,” she said while watching her children run toward the surf. “It’s crazy.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
USE OUR CONTENT
This story can be republished for free (details).
