How federal layoffs could impact spring and summer tourism at North Carolina's national parks

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How federal layoffs could impact spring and summer tourism at North Carolina's national parks

By Leoneda Inge,

Rachel McCarthy

Published March 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM EDT

Deep Creek area north of Bryson City and west of Cherokee, North Carolina

Spring is almost here, a time when many people in our region plan trips to one of North Carolina鈥檚 national parks, trails, and seashores. But many of the federal agencies running these sites face worker layoffs.

Lincoln Larson, a professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management at NC State University, explains how these changes can impact spring and summer travel, tourism dollars, and protected ecosystems.

Guest

Lincoln Larson, Associate Professor, Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University

Due South

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of 吉彩网网站's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at 吉彩网网站 as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda鈥檚 work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at 吉彩网网站 as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

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