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North Carolina State Parks cut half its seasonal positions due to funding shortfall
By Zachary Turner
May 18, 2026 at 6:10 PM EDT
Maintaining a state park is a balancing act for governments that want to welcome as many visitors as possible, while protecting the natural beauty and wildlife habitat that those visitors came to see. And North Carolina faces challenges, as a running list of state park maintenance projects grew to $142 million this year.
Emily Mason, an advocate with Environment North Carolina, said more investment is needed to protect people, plants and wildlife.
“As our world shifts to being increasingly online and on devices, protecting and maintaining our public land should be a priority,” Mason said.
Environment North Carolina pointed to the growing list of maintenance projects as evidence that state parks needed greater investment. The nonprofit is pushing states to seek out new revenue, such as bonds, lottery funds and protected funds.
“The weather is warming up. People are thinking about going camping and hiking,” Mason said. “Although [state parks] are a resource to us all the time, every season, I think it’s just a little more top of mind for people.”
Brian Strong, director of North Carolina’s parks system, said that $142 million doesn’t cover daily facility maintenance, but rather roughly 100 larger projects the state is planning for the future.
Still, N.C. State Parks are experiencing a budget shortfall because the General Assembly hasn’t passed a budget yet. As a result, the division has had to cut costs.
“It’s going to be tight. We’ve had to cut our seasonal staff by about 50%,” Strong said.
Higher operating costs and a decline in fee revenue have contributed to the stress. Strong said the cuts will result in some swimming area closures and less frequent park maintenance. The parks will prioritize positions “relating to safety.”
Correction 5.21.26: Changed the original article title “North Carolina State Parks cut half its seasonal positions due to inflation, low fee revenue” to “North Carolina State Parks cut half its seasonal positions due to funding shortfall” to more accurately reflect the conditions of N.C. State Parks. Updated language in the article to include the impacts of the state not passing a budget.
Emily Mason, an advocate with Environment North Carolina, said more investment is needed to protect people, plants and wildlife.
“As our world shifts to being increasingly online and on devices, protecting and maintaining our public land should be a priority,” Mason said.
Environment North Carolina pointed to the growing list of maintenance projects as evidence that state parks needed greater investment. The nonprofit is pushing states to seek out new revenue, such as bonds, lottery funds and protected funds.
“The weather is warming up. People are thinking about going camping and hiking,” Mason said. “Although [state parks] are a resource to us all the time, every season, I think it’s just a little more top of mind for people.”
Brian Strong, director of North Carolina’s parks system, said that $142 million doesn’t cover daily facility maintenance, but rather roughly 100 larger projects the state is planning for the future.
Still, N.C. State Parks are experiencing a budget shortfall because the General Assembly hasn’t passed a budget yet. As a result, the division has had to cut costs.
“It’s going to be tight. We’ve had to cut our seasonal staff by about 50%,” Strong said.
Higher operating costs and a decline in fee revenue have contributed to the stress. Strong said the cuts will result in some swimming area closures and less frequent park maintenance. The parks will prioritize positions “relating to safety.”
Correction 5.21.26: Changed the original article title “North Carolina State Parks cut half its seasonal positions due to inflation, low fee revenue” to “North Carolina State Parks cut half its seasonal positions due to funding shortfall” to more accurately reflect the conditions of N.C. State Parks. Updated language in the article to include the impacts of the state not passing a budget.