The superintendents of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks predicted an “outstanding” summer despite staff cuts to the federal parks system that have worried many outdoor enthusiasts.
Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly and Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins voiced optimism and encouraged gateway communities and visitors to enjoy Wyoming’s national parks this summer during the 2025 National Parks Day Lunch in Cody on Monday.
Despite recent federal layoffs and cutbacks, Wyoming’s national parks are in “fantastic shape,” Sholly said.
“I’m always excited at this time of year, because Yellowstone is a flagship park,” Sholly said. "I’m very optimistic about the future, and I hope you share that.”
If the trend of visitor growth to the pair of national parks holds, that could mean more than 8.4 million visitors to the pair of parks. Yellowstone had more than 4.7 million visitors last year while Grand Teton recorded 3.6 million.
Sufficient Staffing
Over the last several months, national discourse has revolved around staffing concerns throughout the National Park Service. Yellowstone and Grand Teton have experienced record-breaking attendance over the last decade, and many were concerned about how the parks would handle millions of people with fewer seasonal and permanent staff.
“I wanted to make sure you're clear that Yellowstone is in fantastic shape,” he said. “Yellowstone staffing is higher this year than it has been at any point in the last five years, going into summer.”
Sholly brought the numbers to prove it. As of May, Yellowstone has 395 permanent and 387 seasonal staff positions, for a total of 782 staff for the upcoming summer.
And they’ll need them. Vehicle entries for 2025 are already higher than at this point in 2024: up 6.24% at the North Entrance, 3.17% at the West Entrance, and 9.46% at the East Entrance, which has only been open to vehicles for less than a week.
“All of our critical positions are filled,” Sholly said. “The team is ready, and I think this is going to be one of the best years we’ve had in a long time.”
Jenkins also said Grand Teton will be sufficiently staffed for summer.
“Probably two-thirds of our employees are returning from last year, and about a third are new,” he said. “That’s the same ratio the National Park Service has had for the last 20 years. People who have worked with us for the last several years, combined with folks who are spending their first summer working in a park, and they're all thrilled to be there.”
Summer 2024 was the second busiest in Grand Teton’s history, and the second busiest year overall for Yellowstone. Both Jenkins and Sholly are anticipating similar numbers in 2025.
“I think we'll easily hit 4.5 million again this year, and I think that it's possible it gets close to 5 million,” Sholly said. “There are a lot of questions about international travel, but our international travel statistics so far are up this year compared to last year, so we'll see how that plays out.”
Looking Forward And Back
During his presentation, Sholly addressed the two most significant incidents of 2024 in Yellowstone: the hydrothermal explosion in Biscuit Basin and the July 4 active shooter incident at Canyon Village.
Sholly confirmed that Biscuit Basin will remain closed until the area is deemed completely safe. The July 23 explosion of Black Diamond Pool destroyed the boardwalk, which hasn’t been replaced yet due to ongoing hydrothermal activity in the geyser basin.
“We have a plan to rapidly repair that boardwalk and restore access to Biscuit Basin,” he said. “I don't have an exact timeline on that, hopefully sooner rather than later, but we don’t want to put people in there until it’s safe.”
Meanwhile, Sholly commended Yellowstone’s rangers for their rapid and professional response to the July 4 active shooter incident. Their actions prevented the shooter, Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, from committing one of the largest mass casualty incidents in American history.
“The shooter’s sole goal was to go into the Canyon cafeteria and kill as many people as he could,” he said. “There are thousands of people going through that cafeteria (in July). It was a tragedy, Yellowstone’s law enforcement officers and our Xanterra partners unquestionably prevented a massive loss of life that morning.”
Sholly added that the park ranger who was shot in the foot by the shooter is “doing well” and called Fussner’s hostage “a true hero” for calling 911 and making law enforcement officers aware of the danger, giving them enough time to respond and prevent the incident.
Sholly and Jenkins look forward to a quieter summer but will be ready for anything.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Sholly said, “but we have the best teams in America. We’ve proven we can deal with whatever gets thrown our way."
Building And Repairing Bridges
Yellowstone’s major construction projects for Summer 2025 include the ongoing construction of the new Yellowstone River Bridge. Sholly said the bridge will be open to traffic before the end of the year.
“We looked at a bunch of alternatives to replace the current bridge, but that would have required a four-hour closure every day for three or four years,” Sholly said. “That probably wouldn't have worked out too well, especially for folks in Cooke City.”
The final phase of the construction project will be removing the existing bridge and restoring the Lost Creek Drainage to its pre-park state. Many people have asked about maintaining the existing bridge as a wildlife crossing, but Sholly said that’s been ruled out.
“Wildlife crossings are for animals to get from one side of the road to the other, not one side of the river to the other. So, we will be taking that bridge apart,” he said.
The other major project will improve the road corridor through Golden Gate Canyon, south of Mammoth Hot Springs. Sholly said the project will begin in July with 20-minute traffic delays until Labor Day, when the road will be completely closed as nearly 100,000 tons of rock are blasted and removed from the canyon.
“We've got the contract awarded, we're getting the schedule firmed up,” he said.
Jenkins said there are only minor projects planned in Grand Teton this summer, which shouldn’t have anywhere near the same visitor impact as Yellowstone’s projects. Their priority project will be outreach to increase visitor stewardship in the parks.
“Our primary focus this year is to help people have a rockin’ good time, but actually to learn that they're here to be stewards of this ecosystem,” he said. “The reality is that we will never have enough National Park Service rangers, concessionaire employees, or partners to care for these places. We’ll be helping people understand what it means to be able to play and have great times with family and friends, but do it in a way that is responsible and helps serve as a steward.”
Yellowstone superintendent Cam Sholly, left, and Grand Teton superintendent Chip Jenkins take questions during the 2025 National Parks Day lunch in Cody on Monday, May 5, 2025. Both superintendents shared their optimistic assessment of sufficient staffing and record-breaking visitation for Summer 2025. (Andrew Rossi, Cowboy State Daily) 
Yellowstone superintendent Cam Sholly shares a photo of the construction of the new Yellowstone River Bridge, near the park's Northeast Entrance, during the 2025 National Parks Day lunch in Cody. (Andrew Rossi, Cowboy State Daily) 
- Cam Sholly, superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, discusses the upcoming summer during the 2025 National Parks Day lunch in Cody. (Andrew Rossi, Cowboy State Daily)
No Time Entry Scheduled
After their presentations, Sholly and Jenkins answered questions from the lunch attendees. When asked if there would be any timed entry programs in the future for Yellowstone and Grand Teton, both superintendents said there had been no discussion or urgent need for such programs.
“Did you like the odd-even license plate strategy? Cody got the short end on that one, but fortunately, it was only for eight or ten days,” Sholly said.
Sholly was referencing the unpopular timed license plate entry system that was briefly implemented in the aftermath of the devastating floods of Summer 2022. To put it mildly, the short-lived system to reduce visitor traffic was unpopular.
Both Sholly and Jenkins discussed the “micro-geographic actions” they’ve implemented throughout the parks that spread visitors out and reduce the numbers at the parks’ most popular places. Those actions have been effective so far, negating the need for any timed-entry systems.
“I’ve mentioned this before, but there’s less than 2,000 acres of pavement in the 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone, and 97% of people never get more than half a mile away from their car,” he said. “Zion has the same visitation as Yellowstone, but only 400 acres of pavement in 249,000 acres. We’ll need to talk about (timed entry) as we go through time, but we’re good right now.”
Jenkins said they’ve successfully used micro-geographic changes in Grand Teton to keep traffic moving and let people have the experiences they desire. But it’s also a question of savvy strategies during a visit.
“People can orbit the Jenny Lake parking lot five or six times, spending 20 or 30 minutes looking for a parking spot between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.,” he said. “If you come after 2:30 p.m., you’ll find one in less than five minutes. Day-use reservations don’t make sense in a configuration like that.”
Gateway Goodness
Both Sholly and Jenkins expressed their gratitude for being invited to Cody, one of Yellowstone’s major gateway communities. The input of business and governmental leaders is seriously considered whenever impactful projects or changes are discussed in Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
Sholly took a moment to memorialize the late Senator Al Simpson. This was the first National Parks Day lunch in decades where Simpson wasn’t in attendance.
Sholly presented Simpson’s wife, Ann Simpson, with a Yellowstone Superintendent’s Medallion for “exemplary service and support.”
“Al Simpson was an amazing man, an amazing senator, and an amazing part of this community,” Sholly said. “The things that he accomplished for this country are endless, but we know that, many times, our spouses are actually responsible for our success. We know that the reason Al was so good and so outstanding was because of you.”
Ann Simpson was assured the medallion would help her gain entry to Yellowstone in lieu of a week or annual pass.
Overall, both Sholly and Jenkins were optimistic they could handle the busy summer ahead. They thanked the gateway communities for their support and encouraged them to share in the spirit of success that will be shared throughout the Greater Yellowstone Region this summer.
“The grizzly bears are out.” Jenkins said, “The elk are following the green wave from the valleys to the mountains. Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake are still frozen but starting to melt. People are out in their drift boats and starting to fish on the Snake River. The snow line is moving up the mountain.
“In the last couple of weeks, we've gone over a tipping point where there are more out-of-state plates than County 22 plates driving on the park roads. Spring is here, we're headed towards summer, and we're well-positioned for a good summer.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
