10/04/2026
This was shared with us and we whole heartedly agree- please contact your County Council Member and let them know our parks and the Rangers are important and should be supported.
We wanted to make everyone in the area aware of something happening right now that could directly affect the safety of our St. Louis County parks.
The proposed 2027 County budget includes significant reductions to the St. Louis County Park Ranger Division. Of the 38 positions proposed to be cut from the Parks Department, 28 are Park Rangers. That reduces their staffing to only 6 Rangers for the entire county and 72 parks.
Before anyone assumes this is simply cutting positions from a division that isn’t busy, look at the numbers:
• 2024: 5,617 calls for service
• 2025: 8,219 calls for service
• 2026 through October 1: 8,502 calls for service
That means with three months still remaining in the year, Park Rangers have already handled more calls in 2026 than they did during all of 2025.
They have already exceeded the entire 2025 total by 283 calls and the 2024 total by 2,885 calls.
That is more than 8,500 calls for service this year alone.
But public safety is only part of what Rangers do.
Park Rangers also provide and support hundreds of public programs and special events throughout the County park system:
• 2024: 269 programs/events with 158,753 attendees
• 2025: 244 programs/events with 170,791 attendees
• 2026 through October 1: approximately 266 programs/events
With three months still remaining in 2026, Rangers have already participated in 22 more programs and events than they did during all of 2025 and are only 3 short of the entire 2024 total.
In each of the last two completed years, more than 150,000 people participated in Ranger-supported programs and events.
These aren’t just employees driving around parks.
Park Rangers patrol County parks, respond to disturbances and suspicious activity, help lost children and vulnerable people, respond to medical emergencies and overdoses, handle vehicle crashes, enforce County ordinances, protect park property and natural resources, provide security at major events, conduct public programs and educational activities, and provide a visible public-safety presence throughout the park system.
St. Louis County has also formally recognized Park Rangers as first responders.
So when Ranger staffing is reduced, it means fewer Rangers available to patrol, fewer Rangers available to answer thousands of calls for service, and fewer Rangers available to support the programs and events used by hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors. That also means extended call times for Police, as they’ll be forced to answer the thousands of calls once answered by Rangers.
Think about the County parks you and your family use.
When your kids are playing on a playground, when you’re walking a trail by yourself, when your family is at a picnic or sporting event, when you attend a County park program, when you leave your vehicle in a park parking lot, or when something goes wrong and you need help, Ranger staffing matters.
The proposed budget is not final. The County Council will have a role in determining what ultimately becomes part of the FY2027 budget.
If you care about our County parks, the programs they provide, and keeping them safe, please contact your St. Louis County Councilmember and tell them where you stand on maintaining Park Ranger staffing.
These are our parks. They belong to the public, and residents have every right to make their voices heard before these decisions are finalized.
Please share this so other St. Louis County residents know what is being proposed and have an opportunity to contact their representatives.
You can find all of the Council members here and your specific representative,
Meeting Documents, including the meeting notice and agenda, are available after clicking on a meeting within the Public Notices page.
