The beaches at Assateague Island may look as beautiful as ever this summer, but they’ll be missing something critical: lifeguards.

No lifeguards are on duty at the popular Maryland and Virgina stretch of shoreline, a result of federal staffing shortages tied to the Trump administration’s hiring freezes and budget cuts. Now top Maryland lawmakers are warning that the absence of trained rescue personnel is putting beachgoers’ lives at risk.

Lifeguard vacancies are leaving a public safety problem in their wake, according to Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks. Lifeguards made at least 24 rescues at Assateague last year, they wrote in a letter to the federal administration urging it to fill the positions.

Lifeguards were not considered “public safety personnel,” Van Hollen and Alsobrooks wrote, which would have exempted them from the initial hiring freeze that has reduced National Park Service staff by 24%. Seasonal employees, including lifeguards, were later exempted in May, but NPS has not hired new lifeguards at Assateague Island this summer, they added.

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“Lives are at risk with no lifeguards at Assateague,” the two Democratic senators wrote in a letter to the administration Friday. “Rip currents, large waves, and marine debris are significant hazards that can harm or endanger beachgoers.”

Two days ago, a child was “caught in a choppy surf and rescued by a bystander” in Chincoteague, on the Virginia portion of Assateague Island.

The consequences of the lack of NPS staff have fallen on the community and nearby emergency services, including from towns over 20 minutes away, according to the senators.

“These ad hoc measures are unacceptable; drownings happen in minutes,” they wrote.

On the Virginia side, a local county voted Thursday to manage lifeguard operations on its portion of the island. The National Park Service is funding a large portion of the contract with the Virginia Beach company providing the lifeguards, local outlets reported.

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That still leaves the Maryland side unmanned for the time being.

However, there are lifeguards at Assateague State Park in Maryland.

Assateague Island beaches in Maryland are open year-round, 24 hours a day, according to the NPS website. Eight miles south of Ocean City, the island is home to wild horses that roam the beaches and graze in salt marshes. Over 2.5 million people visit every year.

The Trump administration has not responded to a request for comment.