Collected News Articles
Relevant to the National Park Service and its stewards
Sites managed by the National Park Service are facing unprecedented challenges due to this administration's actions, which prioritize short-term economic gains over long-term environmental, cultural, and historic resource stewardship.
The ongoing repercussions of these decisions will leave lasting scars on the natural and cultural heritage that defines our nation.
Cuts to NPS staff and funding, threats to resources, programs, and operations are just a few of the issues that have been covered by the media.
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The National Park Service Saw Major Job Losses in the Last Year. More Changes Loom
March 3, 2026
President Donald Trump’s sweeping changes at the National Park Service have destabilized the agency and its core missions, critics say.
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It’s time to rethink how we care for our public lands and waters
February 25, 2026
Two former, high-ranking Interior Department employees, from opposing political parties, call for an overhaul of public-land management.
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Slavery exhibit returns to Philadelphia's Independence Mall after Trump administration ordered its removal
February 19, 2026
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US national parks staff say new $100 fee for non-residents risks ‘alienating visitors for decades’
January 8, 2026
A new $100 fee for foreign tourists entering US national parks has triggered chaos and frustrating waits, with staff reporting long entry lines as citizenship checks are made and irate visitors regularly ditching plans to patronize some of America’s most cherished landscapes.
Environmental advocates have argued that the newly tiered fees are also illegal under federal law and are suing to reverse them.
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Want to cover Trump’s face on your national park pass? That’ll cost you.
January 6, 2025
Visitors to national parks who plan on covering President Donald Trump’s face on their 2026 entrance passes may face additional fees.
The announcement also included changes in entrance fees based on citizenship status, as well as other new policies. Park visitors who are not U.S. residents must now pay $250 for an annual pass, compared with $80 for U.S. residents.
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Park Service orders changes to staff ratings, a move experts call illegal
December 13, 2025
The NPS Deputy Director of Operations said that roughly one to five percent of people should receive an outstanding rating and confirmed several times that about 80 percent should receive 3s.
The order appears to violate the Code of Federal Regulations, said Tim Whitehouse, a lawyer and executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
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National Park Superintendents Ordered To Cap Employee Evaluations
December 12, 2025
At the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, Executive Director Emily Thompson said that, "park superintendents are under an immense amount of pressure to meet arbitrary ratings as they appraise their employees' performance. Superintendents are being directed to rate nearly all employees, regardless of their accomplishments, at no higher than a 3 — which has traditionally been viewed as a barely passing, “C” grade."
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‘A Morale Bomb’: National Park Workers Face Wage Cuts and 'Dubiously Legal' Review System
December 12, 2025
As National Park Service leaders grapple with reduced staffing and restrictive, ideological policies, maintenance workers at Yosemite National Park are now also facing a pay cut in 2026 that could reduce hourly wages by as much as $3.50 for some positions.
That’s after the National Park Service told its staff that pay for newly hired or promoted employees will now be based on rates for the Fresno area, instead of Stockton, as they have been for the last 16 years.
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NPS to bosses: Ditch glowing performance reviews
December 12, 2025
The National Park Service has downgraded some the performance ratings given to staffers under guidance from the Trump administration to reduce the number of federal employees getting high marks in annual evaluations.
NPS Deputy Director for Operations Frank Lands told supervisors that roughly 80 percent of employees should be earning at least a 3 rating out of 5.
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Vandals Left Graffiti Near an Iconic Landmark in Arches National Park
November 7, 2025
A visitor found graffiti and toilet paper on a popular trail near one of the park’s iconic geologic formations.
“Matthis believes the graffiti in Arches is directly the result of the shutdown. It’s located in a well-trafficked area near an iconic destination. If the park were fully staffed, she said, vandals would have likely been scared off by patrolling rangers.”
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Interior Secretary Faces Scrutiny for Travel Amid Shutdown
November 4, 2025
While some national parks are seeing damage and illegal activity during the government shutdown, Doug Burgum is traveling around the Middle East, selling American gas and oil.
“As national parks are either closed or operating on skeleton crews, I can’t imagine anything more disconnected than for the secretary of interior to jet off to these places and schmooze with oil oligarchs,” said Representative Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. Mr. Huffman questioned whether Mr. Burgum flew on commercial or private planes and at what cost to taxpayers.
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He Alone Tracked Leaky Oil Wells in National Parks. He Was Let Go.
October 31, 2025
Until recently, Forrest Smith was the sole employee at the National Park Service responsible for cleaning up dozens of abandoned oil and gas wellsat national parks across the country. But last month, the Park Service did not renew Mr. Smith’s four-year contract.
Now it is unclear whether anyone will clean up an estimated 93 abandoned wells on federal lands managed by the Park Service.
More Public Lands News
The decimation of public lands poses significant threats to ecological integrity and biodiversity. With increasing pressures from industries such as mining, oil, and gas exploration, vast tracts of these lands are being subjected to practices that disrupt ecosystems. Clearcutting forests devastates wildlife habitats and contributes to climate change by releasing carbon stored in trees. This process endangers the preservation of sensitive landscapes, leaving ecosystems exposed to exploitation. As stewards of our natural heritage, it is crucial to advocate for the protection of these public lands to ensure they remain safeguarded for future generations.
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He Built an Airstrip on Protected Land. Now He’s in Line to Lead the Forest Service.
Michael Boren, nominated by President Trump, is accused of threatening trail workers with a helicopter, building an airstrip without a permit and putting a cabin on federal property.
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Trump administration rolls back forest protections in bid to ramp up logging
“This is all about helping the timber industry,” said Blaine Miller-McFeeley of the environmental group Earthjustice. “It’s not looking at what will protect communities. It’s about the number of board feet, the number of trees you are pulling down.”
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Patagonia CEO: Trump Shouldn’t Sell our Public Lands
This Congress and the Trump administration are trying to make it easier to lease or sell 640 million acres of public lands, including America’s most iconic landscapes, and turn our back on the Indigenous and local groups that championed their protection.
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Oregon Sen. Merkley warns Trump cuts to federal lands staff meant to create chaos, precede land sale
“I firmly believe — personally and as a public servant — that we need to spend tax dollars efficiently and effectively, but gutting one of the cornerstones of our nation’s workforces is not the way to do it,” Langley said.