It was Beth Shrader's dream job, but federal layoffs, she said, changed everything.
Shrader got an email Friday letting her know she'd been laid off.
"I was infuriated," she said. "It said I did not have fitness qualifications for the position. It is just false."
Shrader was a recent hire with the National Park Service.
"It was not because of our performance or our employment status. … It was because it is easy," she said.
According to the Associated Press, the Trump Administration has fired about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees.
Some of the workers who were let go maintain and clean national parks, educate visitors and perform other functions. The firings come amid what some call a chaotic rollout of an aggressive program to eliminate thousands of federal jobs.
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"There will be projects that don't get done," Shrader said. "There will be roads not resurfaced. Trails that are not built. The visitor experience is going to suffer."
Ann Poehlman, who was fired Friday from her job as a tractor operator at the Indiana Dunes National Park, said her performance reviews had been stellar and she had no issues at work.
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"This was my second career, and it has been ruined," Poehlman said. "I don't know how they came to their conclusion that I was not fit for my duty. They are not following a process that is legal and ethical, so where do we go from here?"
Shrader said she's setting up interviews. As for Poehlman, she is trying to determine her next steps.
"The greater issue here is that this is impacting the very fabric of our democracy. That is the larger issue. People are being harmed," she said.
NBC Chicago reached out to the Department of Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, but did not get a response.
