At first glance, they look like normal tourism billboards.
But a second look and noticing the headline, "Now with reduced staff* *made possible by D.O.G.E.," makes a reader quickly realize these aren't something cooked up by a chamber of commerce.
And to be clear — the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is not behind them.
They're the product of the nonprofit "More Perfect Union," specializing in raising awareness for the working class.
"They're going to see things that are worse off, and I want them to know why," Faiz Shakir, founder and executive director, said. "It's one of the public goods in America that we should appreciate."
Shakir told News 5 there are about 70 of these billboards all across Ohio.
"It's one of the public goods in America that we should appreciate," Shakir added. "It should be, sadly, a degraded experience from a prior time you may have visited the same national park. You'll probably see longer wait lines, more trash, restrooms closed or less clean, people passing out with heat exhaustion and not able to get the help that they need."
The nonprofit has about 400 billboards across the country highlighting different national parks.
More than 2 million people visit the park each year, according to Deb Yandala, who oversees the park's official nonprofit, the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
"It’s tough, we’re concerned about what the future might hold," she said.
Yandala told News 5 that she had seen the signs and appreciated how they raised awareness for the park. She admits there is still a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the park’s staffing for this summer.
"Our park has lost several staff - people taking early buyouts," Yandala said. "We lost some probationary workers but they’re all back. The seasonal hiring came back which we’re really pleased about but it was late so its been a bit challenging filling all those positions."
A park spokesperson at the U.S. Department of Interior told News 5 they have nothing to say about the billboards at this time.
The billboards are expected to stay up for the next month, maybe even longer.
