Nearly 332 million people visited America's national parks last year, a record high. That popularity hasn't shielded the agency from the Elon Musk team's purge of the federal workforce.

National parks saw a record-breaking 331.8 million visitors in the last year, a 2% increase from the previous year. Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains the most visited national park, while Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve had the fewest visitors.

At more than 12 million visits, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was the most visited national park in the country. It was followed by Zion National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park and Yosemite, which all recorded between 4 million and 5 million visitors.

The White House's Department of Government Efficiency laid off about 1,000 National Park Service workers last month as part of its wave of federal mass firings.

National Park Service advocates say more than 30 facilities, including visitor centers, have been targeted for lease terminations.

In downtown St. Paul, the National Park Service Visitor Center within the Science Museum of Minnesota — a draw for kids and families attracted to its eagle-in-flight simulator and other interactive offerings — could soon be shuttered,

The National Park Service just reported the highest visitation in its history, as the administration conducts massive firings and threatens to close visitor centers and public safety facilities" -- NP

Haynes, a fired National Park Service ranger, worked at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site and called the job "a calling."