Abstract
Affectionately coined “America’s Best Idea” by Wallace Stegner in 1983 (National Park Service, 2009), National Parks are at the forefront of the nation’s values as a tangible, experiential emblem of democracy and freedom. Yet, recent decades have been anything but liberating for our beloved landscapes. Since the 1970s, neoliberalism has been the dominant ideology governing our natural spaces, largely seeking to mobilize market forces in the realm of management and funding opportunities. This has posed significant drawbacks in the way of decreased operational capacity and exploitative overwork. Through semi-structured interviews with full-time equivalent National Park Service staff within Region X, neoliberalism and its organizational outcomes are assessed and addressed as they pertain to the focus area of study. Ultimately, this study underscores the need for a cultural and operational shift within the National Park Service to support its staff more holistically, revealing a compelling narrative of both dedication and disillusionment. The results indicate a troubling trend: passion, though powerful, cannot indefinitely counteract structural inadequacies, leaving many employees feeling overburdened and undervalued. In summary, this study enriches NPS literature by offering a critical lens through which to understand and address the organizational and ideological challenges posed by neoliberalism, ultimately seeking to align organizational management with the democratic values park are intended to symbolize.