By admin 
California’s state parks are facing a public safety staffing crisis, and it could soon be worse.
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Twenty years ago, California had about 800 state park rangers. Today, that number is closer to 500. More than 80 million people visit state parks each year, and the system spans nearly 1.6 million acres. Fewer rangers are being asked to protect more visitors and more land and respond to more emergencies.
Now California is considering vacancy sweeps that would eliminate unfilled ranger positions.
The state has budgeted for 338 park rangers and 70 full-time lifeguards to police those lands. Eighty-one of those positions are empty — a vacancy rate of 21%.
That may sound like routine paperwork — or like those jobs aren’t really needed. That is far from the truth. A vacant ranger position means California is struggling to recruit and retain qualified officers for a difficult job that is no longer financially competitive enough.
State park rangers are law enforcement officers. We respond to medical emergencies, conduct search and rescue operations, enforce laws, handle dangerous situations and protect natural resources. Much of this work happens in remote areas, on difficult terrain and far from the nearest city police or fire station.
Imagine your child gets lost on a crowded trail, a family member breaks a leg miles away from the nearest road or a violent situation breaks out at a packed campground on a holiday weekend. In those moments, visitors expect help to come quickly.
But when staffing is this thin, help can take longer to arrive. In some parks, a ranger may work alone in a large, busy area. In others, coverage is absent. Preventive patrols become less consistent, and problems that could have been stopped early are more likely to escalate.
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Eliminating ranger positions would move the state in the wrong direction. Parks are remote. Public safety risks are real. Staffing shortages already exist. Cutting positions on paper will not stop calls, shorten response times or make visitors safer.
Rangers are leaving for other law enforcement jobs and careers that offer stronger pay, better schedules or both. State Park Peace Officers currently earn between $67,000 and $106,000 a year, depending on tenure, while comparable public safety positions often offer 30% to 50% higher salaries and more predictable career paths.
For many rangers, the decision is not about commitment. It is about whether they can keep doing this work while missing weekends, holidays and family time, often while working mandatory overtime because there are not enough officers to cover the schedule. We cannot blame colleagues who find better opportunities, but every ranger who leaves is another punch in the gut.
California’s state parks generate $6 billion for the economy and are part of the state’s iconic identity. State leaders should reject vacancy sweeps, preserve existing ranger positions and invest in recruitment, retention and competitive compensation.
When someone is injured, lost or in danger in a state park, they do not need a vacant position on a spreadsheet. They need a ranger.
Matt Yarbrough is a state park ranger and president of the State Park Peace Officers Association of California, an affiliate of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.
This story was originally published July 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM with the headline “State Parks are understaffed and underfunded. That puts visitors in danger | Opinion.”
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