By Alexa Plisiewicz, Member, North Central Pennsylvania Group
The sun rises over Raystown Lake, the largest lake entirely within Pennsylvania’s borders. Families arrive with kayaks strapped to their roofs, coolers packed, kids buzzing with excitement. But the gates are locked. Seven Points Campground sits silent. Susquehannock’s trails are empty. Nancy’s Boat-to-Shore slips into memory.
In March 2025, the Army Corps of Engineers shut down three major campgrounds at Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County, PA due to federal budget cuts under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Raystown Lake is more than a scenic retreat - it’s an economic engine. Drawing over 1 million visitors annually and generating approximately $1.2 million in revenue, it’s a cornerstone of central PA’s outdoor economy. Visitor center sales at Seven Points dropped by 50%. Local businesses felt the sting, even as hotel tax revenue offered a partial cushion. Seniors, once able to camp affordably, paid far more at private sites.
The reopening of campgrounds hinges on a temporary exemption to the federal hiring freeze, which was granted in May, finalized in August, and shadowed by uncertainty. Susquehannock and Nancy’s Boat-to-Shore reopened August 15th, with Seven Points scheduled for September 5th. Raystown is back. But it’s not the same. And it may not last.
Raystown missed Memorial Day, Independence Day, and the bulk of the summer season, which are peak months for outdoor recreation and local tourism. Across Pennsylvania, over 425 federally managed campsites were shuttered due to DOGE initiatives. The closures ripple far beyond one lake, signaling a deeper unraveling of outdoor access and stewardship across America’s public lands.
Nationwide, the National Park Service (NPS) is under siege. Since January 2025, nearly 24% of its permanent positions have been eliminated, which is due to the fallout from federal cuts initiated under the recent Trump administration. Thousands of seasonal job offers, which are essential for summer operations, have been rescinded or indefinitely delayed.
Each year, the NPS relies on thousands of seasonal employees to staff visitor centers, lead ranger talks, and patrol park grounds during peak months. That need is more urgent than ever: in 2024, the agency recorded 331.9 million recreation visits – a 2% increase from the previous year, or a little more than 6 million people.
And yet, the system is cracking. The only locksmith in all of Yosemite National Park was fired just shy of his one-year probationary period – another casualty of DOGE cuts. If you haven’t stood in Yosemite’s epic valley, here’s some perspective: the park spans over 760,000 acres and contains more than 1,000 structures that depend on a functioning lock-and-key system.
The staffing crisis hasn’t gone unnoticed. In March 2025, the Sierra Club and a coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit to reverse these layoffs, citing constitutional and procedural violations. Nearly 500 environmental and outdoor organizations signed a joint letter to Congress urging lawmakers to reverse mass terminations at federal land management agencies.
The Sierra Club’s lawsuit is one response from a national organization, but everyday people have power too. Public outcry recently forced Utah Senator Mike Lee to withdraw harmful amendments to the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a major legislative win for outdoor advocates. That victory was hard-won, but public lands remain under threat. Recreation areas across the country face closure, neglect, and instability.
The message to lawmakers must be clear: fully fund federal land management agencies. In 2023 alone, national park visitors spent an estimated $26.4 billion in nearby gateway communities, supporting over 415,000 jobs and generating $55.6 billion in economic output. These lands drive billions in economic activity and have clear justification for a larger investment based on dollars alone, but they’re more than just revenue streams. These places are living systems, cultural touchstones, and shared inheritance. When rangers and park staff are laid off, the land loses its guardians. Wildlife vanishes, habitats deteriorate, and forests become forgotten without stewardship. To underfund them is to neglect something far greater than a line item in a budget.
If you care about public lands, now is the time to act:
- Contact your Representative or Senator. Urge them to oppose staffing freezes and support full appropriations for the National Park Service, Forest Service, Army Corps of Engineers, and other land management agencies.
- Take Action with Sierra Club. Sign petitions and participate in public comment periods when federal agencies propose changes.
- Share your story on social media. Whether you’re a camper, hiker, or business owner – let lawmakers know how closures have affected your life and community.
- Support local businesses near public lands. Many are still recovering from lost revenue due to campground and visitor center closures.
Fully funding and staffing our public lands isn’t optional; it’s essential. Without it, we risk losing the ecosystems, economies, and communities that depend on them. From Raystown Lake to the Yosemite Valley, these are our lands – ours to cherish, ours to defend. If we let them slip away, we lose something that belongs to all of us.
This blog was included as part of the September 2025 Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!