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USA Today
04-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump's national parks proposal: Cut $1 billion, transfer many sites to states
Trump's national parks proposal: Cut $1 billion, transfer many sites to states Show Caption Hide Caption What government layoffs at U.S. national parks mean for your next trip The National Parks Service reported 331.9 million visits in 2024, a record high. But the White House has slashed jobs, which could affect travelers. The new budget proposal from President Donald Trump would reduce the budget for the nation's national parks, monuments, historic sites, seashores and trails by nearly 25% and hand over many of those to the states. The proposal suggests cutting more than $1.2 billion from the $4.8 billion park service budget. It quickly sparked outrage from leaders of organizations devoted to national parks and recreation lands, who had already voiced concern about the staff cuts ordered by the Department of Governmental Efficiency and other plans raised by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. "It's nothing less than an all-out assault on America's national parks," said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit advocacy group. 'This is the most extreme, unrealistic and destructive National Park Service budget a President has ever proposed in the agency's 109-year history." In total, the park service cuts are among more than $33 billion in proposed reductions in the budget proposal related to parks and public lands, environmental management, conservation and science-related programs and grants. The Center for Western Priorities called the budget "a bleak vision for America's parks and public lands." The park service has lost 2,400 to 2,500 employees, more than 10% of its staff, including probationary employees who were fired and others who accepted voluntary buyouts and early retirements, according to the Parks Conservation Association. The cuts have forced parks to cut hours, close visitor centers, suspend tours and limit camping reservations. "This administration is trying to dismantle the park service from the inside out," removing staff and attempting to give away hundreds of sites within the system, Pierno said. Budget cuts and bathrooms: An ongoing struggle at US national parks Giving away park sites Statements in the budget proposal prompted concern about the loss of park sites. Many of the 433 sites within the park service aren't "national parks" in the traditionally understood sense, "receive small numbers of mostly local visitors, and are better categorized and managed as (s)tate-level parks," the proposal said. It added there's an "urgent need to streamline staffing and transfer certain properties to state-level management to ensure the long-term health and sustainment of the National Park system." If the White House proposal is approved, Americans would "lose access to millions of acres of their public lands," said Rokala, of the Center for Western Priorities. "Handing over national park sites to states is a non-starter," Rokala said. "States can't afford to manage them, so the inevitable outcome is the closure, then privatization of our most treasured public lands." While it's true that only 63 of the properties are formally designated as "national parks" but all the units have park service designations. Dozens are labeled national monuments and the list includes several sprawling monuments in the Southwest that protect thousands of ancient archaeological sites. The list includes scenic shorelines such as Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and Canaveral National Seashore, the 24 miles of untouched dunes and beach in Central Florida preserved when the Kennedy Space Center was created at Cape Canaveral. In total, the 433 units are the nation's "greatest legacy," Pierno said. "Any effort to hand many of these sites over to the states is a betrayal, and the American people won't stand for it." Proposed budget cuts The budget proposes to cut: $900 million from park service operations $158 million from historic preservation $77 million to reservation and preservation funding $73 million from national park construction, the parks organizations said. The proposal suggested the park service's Historic Preservation Fund is duplicative, and often funds projects of "local, rather than national, significance." The budget accused the Biden administration of "wasting federal funding" on construction projects at sites that would be more appropriately managed at the local level. It also stated the reduction would complement the administration's agenda of "federalism and transferring smaller, lesser visited parks to State and tribal governments." The budget stated many projects that receive national recreation and preservation grants are "not directly tied to maintaining national parks or public lands, which have a large backlog of maintenance and are more important to address than community recreation initiatives." The park service does not yet have a confirmed director after the departure of Chuck Sams, who served during the Biden administration. The park service went without a confirmed director during Trump's entire first term. How many national park sites are there? Of the 433 units in the system, the largest is the 13.2-million-acre Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in eastern Alaska. The smallest is the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Philadelphia, the 0.02-acre former home of a Polish freedom fighter and engineer who designed fortifications during the American Revolution. Here's a breakdown of the national sites. National monuments 87 National historic sites 76 National historical parks 63 National parks 63 National memorials 31 National preserves 19 National recreation areas 18 National battlefields 11 Other designations (includes the White House and National Mall) 11 National wild and scenic rivers 10 National seashores 10 National military parks 9 National scenic trails 6 National battlefield parks 4 National parkways 4 National rivers 4 National lakeshores 3 National reserves 2 National battlefield historic sites 1 International historic sites 1 National parks ranked by visitors: Here's the top 15 Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, covers climate change, weather, the environment and other news. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
Los Angeles Times
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Interior secretary gives DOGE official with oil-industry ties power to remake department
A former oil executive and representative of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has been given wide authority to make significant changes to the Department of Interior, the agency tasked with overseeing national parks and more than 500 million acres of federal land. The move has alarmed conservation groups, including some who have accused Interior Secretary Doug Burgum of stepping aside to give Musk, and DOGE, 'carte blanche' to possibly fire park rangers, public land managers and wildfire specialists across the country. The order was signed Thursday by Burgum, giving Tyler Hassen sweeping authority to 'effectuate the consolidation, unification and optimization of administrative functions' in the Department of Interior. The order gives Hassen authority to make changes to the department's funding and directives. Hassen was recently named Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management and Budget in the Department of Interior. Before this post, Hassen was chief executive officer at Basin Energy. In its website, the company describes itself as 'a green energy metals exploration and development company.' Hassen was previously chief finance officer for Basin Holdings, 'a global diversified oilfield / industrial supply and services company,' according to his LinkedIn page. But most recently, Hassen was pictured in a social media post from DOGE about the organization's effort to increase the the amount of federally pumped water to flow toward Southern California in January. The move had been pushed by President Donald Trump during the California wildfires. Trump claimed troops were used to force the state to increase the amount of water being pumped. The Los Angeles Times found that the facility had been delivering less water because of routine maintenance. The California Department of Water Resources also refuted the President's claim, noting that the pumps had been offline for three days due to the maintenance. In a statement, the Center for Western Priorities, which describes itself as a nonpartisan land conservation policy organization, criticized the order giving Hassen such wide authority over the department. 'If Doug Burgum doesn't want this job, he should quit now,' said Jennifer Rokala, executive director for the organization in the statement. 'Instead it looks like Burgum plans to sit by the fire eating warm cookies while Elon Musk's lackeys dismantle our national parks and public lands.' The move, Rokala said in the statement, effectively placed unelected DOGE officials in charge of national parks. 'They have no idea how to manage a forest or prepare for fires in the wildland-urban interface,' Rokala said. 'But Doug Burgum just gave DOGE free rein.' A spokesperson for the Department of Interior criticized the Center for Western Priorities, calling it an 'anti-Trump organization that advocates against practical and affordable energy development.' 'The Secretary's Order directs the [Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management and Budget] to ensure that President Donald J. Trump's executive order to restore accountability to the American pubic is carried out,' said Kathryn Martin, spokesperson for the Department of Interior. 'Through this optimization effort, the Department will continue to prioritize retaining first responders, parks and services and energy production employees.' Other conservation groups have already taken legal action over DOGE's actions affecting national parks. In March, the Sierra Club, along with the Union of Concerned Scientist, Japanese American Citizens League, and Asian Pacific American Advocates filed a suit against Musk and DOGE, alleging they acted beyond their power after conducting mass layoffs in agencies overseeing the national parks. The suit also named the Office of Personnel Management, Department of Education, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as defendants. Athan Manuel, director of lands protection for the Sierra Club, said the recent layoffs and the decision to empower a DOGE official to make vast changes over the department is concerning, especially considering the difficulties national parks around the country were already experiencing. 'Even before Trump came in, our public parks were understaffed, from any way that you look at it,' he said. 'This is something that's going to make a bad situation much worse.' Among the biggest worries, Manuel said, was that a DOGE official and the White House would have such a large say over the Department of Interior, without having experience over the agency and the departments it oversees. 'They're going to be told by [presidential advisor] Stephen Miller or some other ideologue in the White House to just cut, cut cut, without an understanding of what the consequences are going to be on the ground,' Manuel said. 'You're running the Department of Interior — you're in charge of Yosemite (National Park), Sequoia (National Park), the Statue of Liberty. To treat them the way they're treating them is really insulting to the country, and the citizens.'
USA Today
08-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
President Trump signs executive orders aimed at reviving US coal industry
President Trump signs executive orders aimed at reviving US coal industry Show Caption Hide Caption China vows to 'fight to the end' on President Trump's tariffs President Donald Trump threatened China with more tariffs after they put a 34% tariff on U.S. imports. WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders Tuesday aimed at reviving the long-declining coal industry by rolling back Democratic efforts to curb a source of energy that's a major pollutant. Trump's mandates include instructing federal agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on federal lands. In addition, Trump directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to acknowledge the termination of the Jewel Mortarium, which paused coal leasing on federal lands. He told agencies to rescind policies that seek to transition the U.S. away from coal. And ordered his administration to ensure coal-fired power plants are part of the nation's electric grid. 'We're bringing back an industry that was abandoned,' Trump, flanked by coal miners in hard hats, said before signing four energy-related executive orders at an afternoon ceremony in the White House East Room. 'We're ending Joe Biden's war on clean coal once and for all.' The actions continue Trump's efforts to eliminate climate and environmental regulations that were pushed under former President Joe Biden as Trump looks to expand U.S. energy production. The orders seek to save coal plants on track to be shut down. Among the targeted plants, Trump said he ordered Energy Secretary Chris Wright to "save" the Cholla Power Plant in Arizona, which was slated to close this month. "We're going to keep those coal miners on the job and tell them to just remain calm," Trump said, "because we're going to have that plant opening and burning the clean coal ‒ beautiful, clean coal ‒ in a very short period of time." On several occasions, Trump touted "beautiful, clean coal," borrowing a term from the coal industry. Yet the environmental concerns from burning coal ‒ a major contributor of carbon dioxide ‒ are well-documented. More: The coal industry, running on fumes, likely to shrink more with new EPA power plant rule Trump's orders are a blow to environmental groups that have worked to slow coal production. 'Donald Trump is hell-bent on dragging the United States back to the 19th century, complete with robber barons, smokestacks, crippling tariffs, and measles," Rachel Hamby, policy director of the environmental conservation group Center for Western Priorities, said in a statement. "The free market has already made it clear that renewable energy sources are a cheaper and healthier path to meet America's energy needs," she said. In 2022, burning coal accounted for about 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and 55% of all carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Coal production in the U.S. has been on the decline since the 2000s. In 2023, the U.S. produced less than half the amount of coal it did in 2008. The five largest coal producers in the U.S. are Wyoming, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Illinois. Trump's signing ceremony included U.S. representatives, Republican senators and governors from some the country's largest coal-producing states. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. (This article has been updated to add new information.)
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
National Park Service advocates worry about peak visitor season amid cuts with more on the way
The days are getting warmer and that means hiking season for many is right around the corner. But with the mass layoffs among National Park Service workers, what will our beloved parks look like? The National Park Service's mission is to preserve 'unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.' The Department of the Interior agency looks over great swaths of land all over the United States, with an already small staff. Now it is more than 1,000 probationary workers less, thanks to the Trump administration cuts to the federal workforce. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway have reported losing personnel in the firings, and with threats of possibly even more cuts in the coming months, it could have an impact on the experience of visitors during peak months. So far one park has specifically cited staffing issues as the reason for a reduction in operations. Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado will be closing two days a week due to staffing. In the Smokies, people might not notice changes right away, but the signs could be subtle: visitor centers closing early or opening later, trash cans in need of emptying, restrooms that aren't as clean or trees not being cleared on hiking paths. For national park advocates, it is worrisome. "I don't know whether we'll see overflowing latrines, polluted streams or deadly wildfires first, but (Secretary of the Interior) Doug Burgum is already leaving a path of destruction across America's parks and public lands," said Aaron Weiss, the deputy director of the public lands advocacy group Center for Western Priorities. "These terminations are foolish, heartless, and do nothing to make the government more efficient. Major parks have already announced changes and have even cancelled some services altogether: Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona: Will be closing its two visitor centers on Mondays starting Feb. 24. Yosemite National Park: Has halted reservations for 577 camping spots this summer. Effigy Mounds in Iowa: Will be closing its visitor center two days a week until the summer. Carlsbad Caverns National Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico: Has canceled its guided tours, and announced that self-guided tours will end sometime in March. Millions of people visit parks each year to catch a glimpse of some of the natural, untouched beauty that has been preserved within those boundaries and learn more about why the site is preserved. In 2023, more than 325 million people visited national parks, the most recent year for which national park statistics are publicly available. There are 433 national park sites in the United States and Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam, according to the nonprofit National Parks Foundation. These sites cover more than 85 million acres. All of the locations are considered park sites, but only 63 have "National Park" in their name, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to the National Park Service. Park rangers, both civilian and law enforcement, cover wide swaths of land while they are working, often by themselves. Between permanent, temporary and seasonal employees, there are usually around 20,000 people employed by the National Park Service. Seasonal employees make up thousands of those positions. Many of these are people who work during the busy season, staffing educational centers, giving tours and more. Permanent employees typically include maintenance staff, law enforcement rangers, park rangers, communications and administration. The Great Smoky Mountains that crest the border between Tennessee and North Carolina already have lost a dozen national park employees due to the mass layoffs, and there could be even more in the future. 'We have just received word in the last couple of days that layoffs are not finished, that agencies – all federal agencies including the park service – have to submit a reorganization plan which will call for additional, quote, 'massive layoffs,'' Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, told Knox News at the end of February. USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Smoky Mountains visits could be very different in 2025 due to NPS cuts
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
National Park Service advocates worry about peak visitor season amid cuts with more on the way
The days are getting warmer and that means hiking season for many is right around the corner. But with the mass layoffs among National Park Service workers, what will our beloved parks look like? The National Park Service's mission is to preserve 'unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.' The Department of the Interior agency looks over great swaths of land all over the United States, with an already small staff. Now it is more than 1,000 probationary workers less, thanks to the Trump administration cuts to the federal workforce. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway have reported losing personnel in the firings, and with threats of possibly even more cuts in the coming months, it could have an impact on the experience of visitors during peak months. So far one park has specifically cited staffing issues as the reason for a reduction in operations. Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado will be closing two days a week due to staffing. In the Smokies, people might not notice changes right away, but the signs could be subtle: visitor centers closing early or opening later, trash cans in need of emptying, restrooms that aren't as clean or trees not being cleared on hiking paths. For national park advocates, it is worrisome. "I don't know whether we'll see overflowing latrines, polluted streams or deadly wildfires first, but (Secretary of the Interior) Doug Burgum is already leaving a path of destruction across America's parks and public lands," said Aaron Weiss, the deputy director of the public lands advocacy group Center for Western Priorities. "These terminations are foolish, heartless, and do nothing to make the government more efficient. Major parks have already announced changes and have even cancelled some services altogether: Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona: Will be closing its two visitor centers on Mondays starting Feb. 24. Yosemite National Park: Has halted reservations for 577 camping spots this summer. Effigy Mounds in Iowa: Will be closing its visitor center two days a week until the summer. Carlsbad Caverns National Park in Carlsbad, New Mexico: Has canceled its guided tours, and announced that self-guided tours will end sometime in March. Millions of people visit parks each year to catch a glimpse of some of the natural, untouched beauty that has been preserved within those boundaries and learn more about why the site is preserved. In 2023, more than 325 million people visited national parks, the most recent year for which national park statistics are publicly available. There are 433 national park sites in the United States and Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Guam, according to the nonprofit National Parks Foundation. These sites cover more than 85 million acres. All of the locations are considered park sites, but only 63 have "National Park" in their name, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to the National Park Service. Park rangers, both civilian and law enforcement, cover wide swaths of land while they are working, often by themselves. Between permanent, temporary and seasonal employees, there are usually around 20,000 people employed by the National Park Service. Seasonal employees make up thousands of those positions. Many of these are people who work during the busy season, staffing educational centers, giving tours and more. Permanent employees typically include maintenance staff, law enforcement rangers, park rangers, communications and administration. The Great Smoky Mountains that crest the border between Tennessee and North Carolina already have lost a dozen national park employees due to the mass layoffs, and there could be even more in the future. 'We have just received word in the last couple of days that layoffs are not finished, that agencies – all federal agencies including the park service – have to submit a reorganization plan which will call for additional, quote, 'massive layoffs,'' Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, told Knox News at the end of February. USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Smoky Mountains visits could be very different in 2025 due to NPS cuts
