Our parks and public lands are under attack
The Trump administration is cutting funding for our most cherished places, removing vital public lands workers, and trying to sell off Americans’ public lands to pay for tax cuts for billionaires—all at the expense of public access.
Americans who are eager to visit and enjoy national parks, national monuments, and other public lands are likely to experience long lines, crowded trailheads, closed campgrounds, locked gates, and diminished visitor services. Donald Trump and his administration are to blame for this mess.
This summer, we went on a road trip across the West to highlight attacks on our public lands and fight back. We hosted on-the-ground events and heard from local leaders, public lands advocates, former federal employees, and others who shared their perspective and examples of how communities are being impacted and how members of the public can support efforts to protect public lands.
Tour
Keep Parks Public went on a road trip across the West to highlight attacks on our public lands and fight back. We hosted on-the-ground events and heard from local leaders, public lands advocates, former federal employees, and others who shared their perspective and examples of how communities are being impacted and how members of the public can support efforts to protect public lands.
Staffing shortages are hitting national parks and forests hard this summer
The Trump administration’s funding and staffing cuts are crippling our national parks, forests, and other public lands. Since January, the National Park Service has lost a quarter of its permanent staff, leaving parks across the country scrambling to serve summer visitors. Thousands of U.S. Forest Service employees were also laid off earlier this year, leading to lags in recreation permitting and overflowing toilets. And, more than 4,500 Forest Service firefighting jobs — around a quarter of the agency’s full firefighting force — remained vacant as of July 17.
A new Westwise blog post from the Center for Western Priorities lays out the many ways in which the Trump administration’s funding and staffing cuts are crippling our national parks, forests, and other public lands. These cuts are completely at odds with the wishes of the American public, who love public lands and want to see the agencies that care for them fully funded.
Follow us on Instagram
