Trump Administration Proposes Drastic Cuts to National Park Service

The Trump administration recently released a budget proposal that includes more than $1 billion in cuts to the National Park Service (NPS), a press release from the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) said.

It would be the largest reduction in the over 100-year history of the NPS, and could mean a more than three-quarters cutback to the National Park System.

“The president’s proposed budget plan is beyond extreme. It is catastrophic. Every action taken so far by this administration has chipped away at national parks and their staff, but this budget is the final blow. If enacted by Congress, our national park system would be completely decimated,” said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the NPCA, in the press release. “The numbers speak for themselves. Proposed cuts of this magnitude could shutter at least 350 national parks sites across the country, effectively more than 75% of our Park System. This proposal is an all-out assault on America’s national parks.”

The specific national parks being targeted will not likely be known until President Donald Trump’s full budget is released later this month. But, a review of the most recent reliable data on the budget for each National Park System unit revealed that achieving $900 million in operational cuts would require the elimination of funding for approximately 350 park sites.

The Trump administration has also taken aim at dozens of grants for the NPS, including some with the purpose of protecting public lands from the impacts of climate change, an internal agency document that detailed the plans said, as The New York Times reported.

A spreadsheet of grants that were likely to be canceled asserts that $26 million could be saved by canceling grants to state historic preservation offices, Tribes, universities and youth corps.

Kristen Brengel, NPCA’s senior vice president of government, said the move was saving the agency little money while losing an enormous amount of knowledge and expertise.

“It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish,” Brengel said, as reported by The New York Times. “It’s amazing when you look at the dollars on all of these projects at how much the Park Service is accomplishing with so little money.”

Brengel said the park-visiting public would be harmed by cuts in funding for climate change studies.

“The research that goes on in national parks is essential for how we’re assessing the conditions of our land, air and water in the country,” Brengel said. “This isn’t about the politics of climate change, it’s about public safety and public health.”

Despite a record-breaking number of visitors to the country’s national parks last year, in addition to the cultural and economic value they provide, NPCA said the Trump administration “continues to systematically dismantle the Park Service” by forcing workers to resign, freezing hiring and canceling leases, among other detrimental actions.

“Our national parks aren’t just places on a map. They’re our shared legacy, safeguarding the beauty, history and culture of our country. For over a century, Americans have loved and protected our national parks, battlefields, historic sites, recreation areas and so much more. We can’t be the generation that lets an administration’s reckless agenda unravel this great legacy,” Pierno said. “Silence is complicity. Congress must get off the sidelines and act now. Every member of Congress must stand up and reject this reckless proposal.”