Workforce of the Future

National Park Service (NPS) employees play an essential role in protecting natural landscapes, caring for cultural heritage sites, and meeting park visitors' needs both today and for years to come. There are a myriad of ways private philanthropy can support a workforce of the future. In the immediate future, housing has become a major challenge. Vacation homes and short-term rentals near many park regions throughout the country are great for visitors but have resulted in chronic shortages of affordable housing for NPS employees. NPS relies on this housing stock for long-term recruitment strategies and the retention of park rangers and experts. In short, nearby, affordable housing is critical to park rangers and other staff. Immediate research and assessments as well as innovative investments are needed to create housing solutions for the next-generation workforce. The National Park Foundation (NPF) actively works with the National Park Service to elevate and strengthen public-private partnerships – in this case, the investments will be focused on NPS employees who are stationed across our national park system.