Visitors to U.S. national parks and park advocates are expressing growing frustration with the Trump administration over sweeping changes to park management, including the redirection of entry fee revenue, expanded hunting and fishing access, and staffing shortages that rangers say are harming both operations and wildlife. The National Park Service oversees more than 400 sites across all 50 states and U.S. territories and recorded more than 325 million recreational visits in its most recent reporting year, relying on a mix of congressional funding and site-collected fees to maintain trails, visitor centers, restrooms, and staffing.

According to a CNN report, the White House has expanded fishing access, lifted hunting restrictions, and rolled back limits on off-road vehicles. The administration has also increased the percentage of national park entry fees diverted to Washington, D.C. Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, which governs the fee program, revenue collected at individual parks is generally meant to be retained at the site where it is collected to fund local maintenance and visitor improvements. At least 30.5 percent of national park fees have been redirected to projects that include the revamped Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, CNN reported.

"What adds insult to injury is that there is no transparency," John Garder of the National Parks Conservation Association told CNN. "We're concerned... about the potential for some of those funds to be used for some of these large construction projects or vanity projects, which again haven't gone through congressional review."

National Park Service employees described deteriorating conditions on the ground. One NPS employee said a spending freeze has made it difficult to stock basic supplies such as toilet paper, and that staffing levels have forced colleagues into custodial roles.

"Burnout amongst those employees is higher and turnover is huge," another employee said. "It's hard to keep people."

Mikah Meyer, a National Parks expert, told CNN that ranger colleagues who once conducted research have been reassigned to janitorial duties.

"They have gone from working in their specialization that they are skilled for and trained for to literally cleaning your s---," Meyer said.

Staffing shortages have also contributed to behavioral changes among wildlife. Rangers reported that visitors are increasingly feeding animals and leaving behind food, which has made bears "rowdy." The Park Service has long warned that animals habituated to human food can become aggressive, lose natural foraging behaviors, and in some cases face relocation or euthanasia — consequences that are difficult to reverse once a pattern is established.

Elisabeth Barton, co-founder of a tour-guide service near Yosemite, described another consequence as she picked up trash around Yosemite picnic tables.

"The squirrels are getting fat," Barton told CNN. "God, a squirrel with a baguette just ran by."