Our Parks Are Under Attack—But We’re Not Backing Down
No matter what Trump does
Less than one fifteenth of one percent of our budget goes to funding our national parks, yet the President of the United States is calling up Senators demanding its budget be cut. And then cut again.
As if these dollars would make his budget thrive.
Then, after the parks limited services, access times, and entry points in order to cope with his funding cuts, he mandated that they not disrupt any services to visitors. With slashed budgets, he demanded they add new MAGA-approved signage and edit existing infrastructure. And he ordered their silence when asked about any personnel cuts and executive order changes.
He must know this leaves parks in an impossible situation.
All the while, he advocates for mining in protected parkland. He insists on building roads so developers and lumber harvesters can access previously untouchable landscapes. He berates Biden for protecting land and cultural resources with park and monument designations. And he’s removing history he doesn’t like from all displays and parks.
He’s turning what has historically been a seemingly apolitical agency into a deeply controversial one.
Just this week, there was a report on NPR about employees in Yosemite National Park (or as Trump says “Yo, Semite”) who worked for weeks as unpaid volunteers when their onboarding was delayed. The park, once chock full of loyal, hardworking park advocates, is now home to protests and spurned employees.
Yesterday, the Guardian featured an article about how National Parks as a whole are suffering under Trump’s budget cuts and absurd presidential orders. Employees at every level are stretched to the limit and feeling hopeless about the future of the land they were once proud to preserve for generations to come.
On my drive downtown in the morning, I listened to a radio report talking about how Republicans are proposing even deeper cuts to the park service at Trump’s suggestion. I heard a park ranger talking about a lack of ability to provide rescue services. Park advocates expressed dismay at the historically dismal state of political support for National Parks, despite their enduring popularity.
Through each report, there was a sense of hurt and disbelief that the administration would so viciously attack such a beloved and worthy part of its own country. It seems we’re all still in shock that Donald Trump and his GOP loyalists would sell us out for such relatively minor gains.
But selling out is all they do.
The good news is that not everyone follows suit. In the face of more proposed budget cuts to National Parks, the Senate Appropriations Committee put forth a bill that would protect existing funding. It also has provisions that counter the administration’s efforts to sell off parts of public parks, negates their attempt to reallocate conservation funds to general park maintenance, and forces them to pay out awarded grant funds on time.
Importantly, the bipartisan bill also expressly requires congressional approval before the executive branch makes changes to the National Park Service.
I also take heart knowing that the group of current and former park rangers that organized a massive protest in national parks earlier this year, The Resistance Rangers, are still active and organizing. They are backing the National Parks Conservation Association’s August 23rd Day of Action.
More broadly, the No Kings organizers have put together a virtual training session to share information about how to stand up to this administration. The event is aimed at teaching people how to community organize and design campaigns that amplify voices of dissent. It’s coming up next week on August 13th, and it’s free to attend.
Now is the time to call on all the better angels this country has to offer, and that means tapping into the most courageous parts each of us has inside. Our people and our public lands are being abused. And we are all a part of protecting them.
With love and hope for the future,
Stephanie
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I have loved our national
Parks since I was a child. They should not be sold to private groups nor harvested for lumber nor mined. Hands off our parks MAGA’S!
Our parks are worth fighting for! And we’ll never back down.