Flight 93 memorial supporters step up fundraising as potential for job cuts looms

The Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial is ramping up fundraising efforts and volunteer recruitment in light of job cuts in the National Park Service around the country.

While it’s unclear if any of the national parks in Western Pennsylvania have been affected by the cuts, Donna Gibson, executive director of the Friends group, said fewer park rangers at Flight 93 National Memorial could impact the visitor experience and the local economy.

“Once the visitor experience drops and isn’t as exceptional as we want it to be, does that then impact future people wanting to come to the park?” she said. “People get used to a certain level of experience when they go to a park.”

Parks around the country have had to cut back operating hours as a result of nearly 1,000 National Park Service employees being fired by the Trump administration as part of a broad effort to downsize government. Additional cuts may be looming, according to the Associated Press.

Some of those jobs were being restored and nearly 3,000 additional seasonal workers were being hired, according to an announcement.

The park service has about 20,000 employees, the AP reported. The layoffs have been criticized by advocacy groups and lawmakers. Protests were held last weekend at some of the country’s marquee parks such as Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.

Western Pennsylvania locations that fall under National Park Service management are Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Friendship Hill National Historic Site and Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Fayette County and Johnstown Flood National Memorial and Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Cambria County.

A list released by the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit advocacy group, indicates a Flight 93 support office on West Main Street in Somerset is one of many leases targeted for cancellation.

Questions posed to park officials about job cuts were passed along by a public information officer. Gibson directed any questions about local job cuts to the National Park Service.

It doesn’t appear operating or visitor center hours at any of the five parks in Western Pennsylvania have been changed.

Ken Nacke, whose brother Louis “Joey” Nacke II, 42, was on Flight 93, said he isn’t worried the cuts will cause any issues at the memorial.

“I really don’t have any concerns because the park is so well run,” he said.

Nacke has faith through the relationships he’s built over the decades that staff members and volunteers will continue to serve the mission of the site.

“They do a fantastic job making sure that our loved ones’ memories are front and center,” he said.

After losing 9% of its staff within weeks, remaining National Park Service workers nationwide are being stretched thin, said Theresa Pierno, president and chief executive officer for the National Parks Conservation Association.

“Canceling these leases and firing more than a thousand staff do nothing to make our park service more efficient,” she said in a statement. “These moves by the administration are pushing our parks past the point of no return.”

Economic impact

If the Flight 93 workforce is reduced, there could be detrimental effects on the local economy, Gibson said. Thousands of park visitors spent millions of dollars in the region while visiting the memorial that honors the passengers and crew members who wrested away control of United Airlines Flight 93 from hijackers and crashed it into a Stonycreek field. Most of the spending was on hotels, restaurants, gas, groceries and other retailers, she said.

At Flight 93, park rangers and volunteers work year round to tell the stories of the 40 people who were on the airplane Sept. 11, 2001. A large remembrance ceremony is held there annually.

The Friends group, the nonprofit supporting the memorial, canceled an April 25 tree-planting event on 10 acres at the memorial after President Trump issued a directive that federal employees should work in-person full-time. That move, Gibson said, created a potential issue for federal mine safety workers to visit the memorial and help determine the best spots for trees to be planted.

Instead, the group is focusing on its Pints for Parks event April 26 in conjunction with Forbes Trail Brewery just west of the memorial on Route 30.