New ads condemn Interior Secretary’s push to defund, understaff, and censor National Park Service

For Immediate Release:

November 10, 2025

Contact:

Bill Wade, ANPR executive director

bwade@anpr.org

Washington, D.C. — In a series of ads in bus shelters across the capital, the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR) is calling attention to the devastating effects of Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum’s funding and staffing cuts on our national parks.

“Secretary Burgum’s ongoing cuts to the National Park Service are a recipe for disaster,” said Bill Wade, executive director of ANPR. “Our national parks are the pride and joy of America — why would the administration threaten what the American public loves so much by cutting National Park Service funding and staffing? These ads highlight just how enormous the impacts of Burgum’s cuts are on national parks across the country — visitors are at risk without proper supervision and care, critical information is being censored, park ecosystems and historic resources are being destroyed, and over a quarter of the NPS staff has been pushed out. These impacts are truly devastating, and we urge Secretary Burgum to reverse course and provide the funding and support that the National Park Service desperately needs.”

From now until mid-December, ads will appear throughout downtown Washington, DC, including near Union Station, Capitol Hill, the National Mall, the Department of the Interior, and the White House. Modeled after historic national park posters, the ads depict the effects of ongoing threats to the National Park Service across the country — including increased wildfire risk, slower search and rescue times, poor pest management, illegal and dangerous activity, and censorship.

Zion National Park

At Zion National Park, the park’s search and rescue team is about 10 percent smaller than it was just one year ago. Zion officials have reported that because of these cuts, the team has less capacity for responding to emergencies, such as medical services and fires. The park is home to the popular but dangerous Angels Landing hike, and in 2024, the park had more than 500 emergency responses.

Joshua Tree National Park

A fire recently broke out in Joshua Tree National Park, forcing an evacuation of the campground and closures of the Black Rock Visitor Center and surrounding trails. Due to a lack of proper staffing from previous cuts to the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, the park has offered very few updates to the public. Potential visitors have been left in the dark and are unable to visit the park safely.

Grand Canyon National Park

At the Grand Canyon National Park, staffing cuts have led to far less maintenance on trails and campgrounds, including pest management. With no one left to monitor zoonotic diseases like the plague, rabies, and bedbugs, visitors are cautioned to avoid squirrels in the park, which are known to carry fleas linked to disease and have been reported to bite people.

Yosemite National Park

Videos have surfaced on social media of Yosemite National Park visitors BASE jumping from El Capitan and climbing cables without proper permits at Half Dome. A Yosemite park employee reported that they only knew of one wilderness ranger on staff throughout the entire park. These activities are extremely dangerous, and BASE jumping is illegal. There have also been many recent reports of squatters in Yosemite’s campgrounds without park employees around to supervise.

Acadia National Park

Educational signs containing information on climate change, ecology, and Native American history have been removed from Acadia National Park. Six signs on the summit of Cadillac Mountain and four signs in the Great Meadow — two of the most visited locations in the park — were removed due to the administration’s censorship of information on public lands and across national parks. Some of the information censored at Acadia included information on how hikers can protect the park’s ecosystem, how climate change has impacted the park, and how to help increase carbon emissions at the park.

America’s National Parks

In March, President Donald Trump released an executive order directing the Interior Department to remove information that promotes a “corrosive ideology” that condemns points in American history. Following that order, it was reported that the Administration has ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slaveryat multiple national parks across the country, including a photograph of a formerly enslaved man with scars on his back — one of the most powerful images of the Civil War era. The order is just the latest in a string of moves by the federal government to censor history at public institutions and control what the American people learn.

“We hope thousands of Americans see these ads and register their disgust for what Secretary Burgum is doing by demanding corrective measures in letters and calls to their elected officials,” said Wade.