More than 100 protesters gathered at the visitor’s center in Yosemite National Park in California on March 1, 2025 to express outrage over the Trump administration's cuts to staff at national parks and forests.

The protest was part of the larger "Protect Your Parks Protest" that spread across the nation on Saturday.

In between short speeches from park employees who were recently terminated and members of the public voicing their support, the protesters marched nearby holding signs and chanting slogans against Elon Musk.

Elliot Lozano, 37, was terminated on Valentine’s Day. In his role as a biological science technician, he focused on the fisher, an endangered muskrat species found in the park.

He said park service employees are already underpaid, calling their firings inhumane.

Dozens of protesters arrived early to Yosemite National Park, where a U.S. flag hung upside down near Yosemite Falls.

Jennifer Roberts, 63, a retired nonprofit manager, drove to California’s Yosemite National Park from the Lake Tahoe area to protest against the cuts.

She called the cuts “infuriating and heartbreaking.”

“It’s just absolutely infuriating and heartbreaking. I know the rangers here. and they don’t do this for the money. They do this because they care about the place. They do incredible work, making the visitor experience what it is and it’s absolutely despicable that anybody questions their job performance of suggests that there’s waste. it’s anything but waste,” she said.

According to Yosemite's website, the park was first protected in 1864. Yosemite is home to hundreds of wildlife species and 1,000+ plant species and is known for its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and sequoias.

(Production: Nathan Frandino, Kristin Neubauer)