Fired Buffalo National River ranger warns Trump’s staff cuts will endanger tourists

Credit: Stacy Ramsey

A Buffalo National River ranger who recently lost her job after the Trump administration fired about 1,000 National Park Service employees has garnered national media attention after speaking out about her termination last Friday.

Marshall native Stacy Ramsey shared the news of her firing in a post on Facebook on Feb. 15, the day after losing what she described as “her dream job” as a river ranger at the Buffalo National River. She held various positions at the park for five years and was terminated because she had just started a modern job and was classified as working on “probationary” status, despite her extensive experience in other roles. 

Ramsey said she was checking signs along the river Friday afternoon, as the park prepares to replace senior signs before tourists descend upon the Buffalo in the spring and summer, when she received an unexpected email with the word “termination” in the subject line.

“I opened the email and I think the first line said that as of today, you are terminated from your position,” Ramsey said. “That completely caught me off guard.”

After she received the email, she went back to the park headquarters in Harrison.

“When I walked in there was a huge sense of sadness, and everyone was apologizing and telling me how sorry they were, and so that was a little overwhelming,” Ramsey said. “Just to feel all the sadness, because the staff isn’t very large, so it is like a work family. Everybody is really close.”

Ramsey said she knows of three other coworkers who also were fired. The park has about 60 employees, according to the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. 

Credit: Courtesy Stacy Ramsey

Ramsey has drawn national attention with her story of being unexpectedly laid off from the NPS, her job a casualty in President Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s war against the federal bureaucracy through the new-fangled Department of Government Efficiency. She said that while she knew job cuts were likely imminent, she never expected that public safety positions like hers would be some of the first to go. As a river ranger, her responsibilities included patrolling the river and interacting with visitors to provide safety education and services on various outdoor activities. 

Ramsey has worked alongside law enforcement to aid prevent accidents and has helped in over 20 search and rescues throughout her career at the Buffalo National River.

Park superintendent Angela Boyers did not respond to the Arkansas Times‘ requests for comment.

Credit: Stacy Ramsey

The Buffalo National River has seen massive increases in tourism since the pandemic, with over 1.5 million visitors recorded in 2023. Growing the outdoor recreation economy is a prerogative of Gov. Sarah Sanders, and the Buffalo is at the heart of the effort, with the Walton family and others rushing to develop more tourism infrastructure along the snaking, 135-mile river.

The Greater Searcy County Chamber of Commerce estimates that 2024 visitorship was over 1.6 million, and the busy season through spring and summer is coming up.

The Associated Press reported that congressional Democrats estimate that close to 1,000 National Parks Service employees have been fired and the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed 2,000 U.S. Forest Service employees have been let go.

The Arkansas Times reached out to leadership staff at the Buffalo National River, Hot Springs National Park and Central High School National Historic Site to inquire about layoffs at each location but did not hear back. We also reached out to the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, run by the U.S. Forest Service, to ask about any layoffs in Arkansas.

A public information officer at the Buffalo National River said they were not allowed to take media inquiries on the topic of layoffs, and that all requests were forwarded to the regional office. The Arkansas Times reached out to the regional office for information on layoffs in the state and did not hear back.

For Ramsey, it was essential for her to share her story because she said thousands of other federal employees are in a similar situation.

“So I shared my story, and it went viral, and the reason that I continue to share my story is because there are thousands of federal employees who have lost their jobs and many of those are jobs that are more critical than even my job,” Ramsey said. “I’m sharing my story to bring light to thousands of other people in similar situations, struggling to find employment, struggling to pay their mortgages and bills, or take care of their families.”

You can read Ramsey’s social media post announcing her dismissal from the National Parks Service here.

But Ramsey is also speaking out because she said she is concerned the staff cuts at the Buffalo National River may negatively impact the park’s ability to provide services to visitors and to protect tourists who are hiking in the area or floating the river. Her concerns have been echoed across the country as employees at other National Park-run destinations warn the cuts may stretch remaining staff too gaunt. 

The Washington Post reported that the wait to enter Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona last weekend was “twice as long as usual after the administration let go of four employees who worked at the south entrance, where roughly 90% of the park’s nearly 5 million annual visitors pass through.” 

Also from the Post: 

President Donald Trump’s purge of federal employees is not only upending the lives of National Park Service workers, but also threatening to harm the visitor experience at national parks across the country. The problems are expected to escalate during the summer season, when more than 100 million Americans and international tourists typically visit the 63 national parks in the United States. 

Ramsey said the Buffalo National River lost its only employee who provided interpretation at the Buffalo Point Visitor Center, the only fee collector for the river’s upper district and one of only three maintenance staff in the middle district.

“Tough times,” she said in her Facebook post.

For now, Ramsey is focusing on applying to modern jobs. She said her children are already out of the house but she still needs an income.

“I loved my job, I love the people that come to the river and I love taking care of the river,” Ramsey said. “So my ultimate goal is to get back in the park service eventually.”