A few youth summer camps in Denali National Park were cancelled after some probationary parks employees were fired by the Trump administration earlier this year.
Some staff have since been re-hired, and some of the camps are getting back on track. But the people who run them say this summer isn't going to be the same.
Jodi Rodwell directs the Denali Education Center — a nonprofit that partners with the national park to run outdoor youth programs, like the Denali Discovery Camp.
Denali Discovery has brought mostly-Alaskan youth onto public lands for more than two decades. But the camp was cancelled this year for the first time since the pandemic.
Rodwell says the chaos resulting from the mass firings of federal employees influenced that decision.
"It was Valentine's Day that the Denali National Park education program manager was let go," she said. "That's a pivotal time when we're doing our planning."
Rodwell says the program, unlike the campers' s'mores, isn't completely toast. The national park's education manager was rehired in May, which gives her hope that they'll be able to bring the camp back next year. And their program for high schoolers — Denali Backcountry Adventures — is now back on the calendar for July.
Meanwhile, a similar nonprofit, Alaska Geographic, is working with the park to help fill the void. The group is planning a day camp oriented toward local kids.
Andy Hall, who directs Alaska Geographic, says he hopes these programs to get kids outside will build support for the parks, so they'll be around for generations to come.
"Our mission is to connect people with public lands," he said. "And so when we bring young people out and we have an experience, they learn that these are lands that are owned by all of us."
Representatives from Denali National Park did not respond to requests for comment.
This story has been updated.
