Washington, D.C. — As we enter a new year, the National Park Service faces what is sure to be another year of crisis as the national parks suffer from continuing budget cuts, staffing shortages, and an “America First” agenda that threatens our collective history. Since President Trump’s inauguration in January of 2025, our national park staff has shrunk by almost a quarter. Alongside a devastating wildfire season, funding and agency cuts, and broad censorship across the NPS, the past year has seen devastating blows to our national parks.
Already in the first week of 2026, Trump’s Interior Department has introduced additional policy changes that propose to turn America’s best idea into America’s greatest shakedown. Starting this year, non-United States residents will have to purchase an America the Beautiful nonresident pass, paying far more to enter our most popular national parks. And to what end? International visitation is one the most important economic drivers in our national parks and for gateway communities around the United States, and this could end up negatively impacting them. If the objective is to raise more money for NPS, we would argue that the solution is simple — fully fund our national parks and public lands.
As if this is not enough, as part of Trump’s “America First” agenda, annual national park passes will feature images of Trump — and covering up his face may cost you an extra fine or void your pass entirely. Censoring peaceful forms of protest is just one move out of many that signal a continued broader effort over the next year to redefine who can access national parks and how history is told within them.
This newsletter is brought to you by the Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR), a coalition of former and current national parks staff — ranging from maintenance workers to biologists — that aims to support and protect the National Park Service by highlighting its employees’ diverse stories. As millions of Americans take advantage of all that our country’s public lands have to offer, this newsletter will elevate key stories and reports of the ongoing crisis for our national parks.
Year in Review:
Slate: What Next Podcast: Gutting Our National Parks | 2025 Year in Review
December 24, 2025
This year has been a rough one at the parks. Between mass firings and resignations, the national park’s workforce has shrunk by a quarter since January. During the shutdown, most parks just were not staffed.
[...] Park Service employees are upset. They’re very, very. They’re depressed. They’re feeling disrespected. They’re feeling that they’re. They’re. The mission of the Park Service is being disrespected. And they’re very worried about their own future, of course, in the agency, and they worry about the parks themselves.
The national parks were supposed to be a bipartisan issue. So how do we protect the creatures and landscapes that can’t protect themselves?
These places were preserved so that anyone can go and have that experience and feel the patriotic pride of it and at the same time have that sense of awe, that incredible sort of sense of the wind in your hair and the sea foam at your feet and be rejuvenated. And, boy, do we need that.
National Parks Traveler: National Parks Traveler's 5th Annual Threatened And Endangered Parks
December 26, 2025
National Park Service funding and morale in decline. Will President Donald Trump downsize, or erase, national monuments? What is the administration's plan for the National Park System? How will the Park Service maintain historic structures without sufficient funding? Will the "Ambler Road" be built across pristine lands in Alaska, including part of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve?
Those are some of the most obvious issues confronting the parks and the agency charged with stewarding them for future generations, with an emphasis on conserving wildlife and natural resources and "historic objects."
In the 5th Annual Threatened and Endangered Parks series the National Parks Traveler's editors and writers take a look at some key issues that not only threaten the health of the parks and the very qualities that made them part of the National Park system, but which even place the future of the parks in question. As we noted a year ago, it's a mix of on-the-ground realities and political agendas that today present challenges that put the parks, and even their overseeing agency, at great harm.
National Parks Traveler: 2025 Year In Review | Attacks On The National Park System
By Jennifer Roberts | December 31, 2025
“The past 11 months have been devastating for the National Park Service,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association. “Under the Trump administration, our national parks and the communities that depend on them have been put at risk through workforce cuts, threats to monument protections, and attempts to erase history in our parks. We need the administration to stop harming national parks and their hard-working staff.”
Despite the Park Service having already lost about a fourth of its workforce, as recently as October the Department of the Interior was planning to fire another 270 Park Service staff. To top it off, the Traveler recently learned that top National Park Service officials, in an apparent violation of federal law, directed park superintendents to reduce evaluation scores for employees, including themselves.
“Morale in the Park Service has never been lower,” said Brengel. “During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, many staff still showed up, sometimes without pay, to keep parks open and safe. Yet, even after everything park staff have done, officials are now pressuring superintendents to unjustly lower performance evaluations, potentially paving the way for yet another round of mass terminations. For many park employees, this isn’t just a job, it’s a calling. And now their livelihoods are in jeopardy. It’s unthinkable that we would treat such dedicated public servants this way.”
Roll Call: Deep cuts made 2025 a difficult year for National Park Service
By Mike Magner | December 31, 2025
The acting director of the National Park Service believes 2025 was a “ass-kicking year.” Advocates for what polls say is the most popular federal agency might use the same term, but with a far different meaning than Jessica Bowron intended in a year-end email to Park Service managers.
“The past 11 months have been devastating for the National Park Service,” said John Garder, senior director of budget and appropriations for the National Parks Conservation Association. The NPCA puts full-time Park Service employment at 12,600, down 24 percent since the start of the Trump administration.
[...] Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, had a similar assessment of morale.
“It is the worst that I’ve ever seen it in over 60 years of affiliation with the NPS,” Wade said via email. “The way that NPS employees have been treated with probationary firings, having to remove ‘negative’ messages (according to the administration) from interpretive programs, threats of termination for speaking out, forced performance ratings, covering for the loss of colleagues, and more, is simply tragic. No one should be treated like these employees have been.”
Changes to the National Park Service in 2026:
The Sacramento Bee: Why non-U.S. residents will pay $250 for a national park pass after January 1
By David Lightman | December 26, 2025
Starting next week, non-United States residents will have to pay far more to enter the nation’s most popular national parks under a plan the White House calls “America First.”
The new America the Beautiful nonresident pass, available after January 1 as a result of an executive order from President Donald Trump, will cost $250. U.S. residents will continue to pay $80.
Without an annual pass, nonresidents will have to pay $100 each to enter 11 of the nation’s most visited parks, including Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, on top of the standard entrance fee.
SFGATE: Critics of Trump's plan to hike national park fees attempt to stop it
By Sam Hill | December 29, 2025
A group of Democratic senators is urging the Trump administration to pause a planned increase in national park entrance fees, arguing the changes are discriminatory and legally flawed and could further strain an already understaffed National Park Service.
In a letter sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, five senators asked the Department of the Interior to halt the implementation of new fees for international visitors set for Jan. 1. Under the plan, foreign tourists will see annual parks passes jump from $80 to $250 per vehicle, while U.S. residents will continue to be charged $80. Foreign tourists without annual passes will be required to pay a $100 per person entrance fee to visit 11 of the country’s most popular national parks.
[...] “America’s national parks serve as destinations for visitors both domestically and internationally to experience our country’s natural beauty, cultural heritage, and history,” the senators wrote. “While we understand that entrance and recreation fees are vital to enhancing the visitor experience, we want to ensure all feel welcome to enjoy all national treasures.”
CNBC: Solo trips, national parks, and more 2026 travel predictions: People want to ‘unplug and really immerse in culture,’ expert says
By Celia Hernandez | December 31, 2025
Airbnb found that searches and interest in national parks worldwide have risen. Nature was a top trend in 2025 but there’s been a big surge for 2026 in terms of national parks, Shalk says.
“People are looking to disperse and avoid those crowds but still get that great experience of being outdoors.”
[...] The report found that searches for stays “near a national park” are up 35% in the U.S. in 2026. Nature and outdoor experiences are the top booked experience category on the platform.
USA Today: 3 big changes for America's national parks in 2026
By Eve Chen | January 1, 2026
2026 is not going to be like other years at national parks.
Not only will they mark America's 250th anniversary with a year full of commemorative events, but there will also be several major changes for visitors.
[...] There will be more free entry dates at national parks in 2026, but only U.S. residents will be eligible for these "patriotic fee-free days."
[...] Effective Jan. 1, "nonresidents without an annual pass will pay a $100 per person fee to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee," among other charges, the Department of Interior announced in late November.
[...] Also starting Jan. 1, non-U.S. residents will have to pay more for the America the Beautiful annual pass. The public lands pass will cost them $250; U.S. residents will continue to pay $80 for a yearlong access.
National Parks Traveler: Bipartisan Appropriations Bill Blocks National Park Service Funding Cuts
By Kurt Repanshek | January 5, 2026
Bipartisan legislation introduced Monday into both chambers of Congress would block drastic cuts in the National Park Service's fiscal 2026 budget and provide for hiring increases for the agency.
[...] According to the National Parks Conservation Association, the measure retains current funding levels for Park Service operations and ignores the Trump administration's call for a $1 billion cut. A budget suggested by the House Appropriations Committee back in July called for a more than 6 percent cut (~$176 million) for the Park Service.
"NPCA and park advocates across the country have been sounding the alarm on the need for park funding and staffing for months, and Congress listened. This bipartisan budget bill rejects the Trump administration’s reckless $1 billion funding cut that would have devastated our parks," said Theresa Pierno, NPCA's president and CEO. "These funding levels should keep parks open and staff on the ground as the system has been nearing a breaking point after losing a quarter of its permanent workforce in 2025.
The Guardian: US national parks staff say new $100 fee for non-residents risks ‘alienating visitors for decades’
By Oliver Milman | January 8, 2026
A new $100 fee for foreign tourists entering US national parks has triggered chaos and frustrating waits, with staff reporting long entry lines as citizenship checks are made and irate visitors regularly ditching plans to patronize some of America’s most cherished landscapes.
The new fee system, introduced by the Trump administration from 1 January, has caught many visitors and National Park Service (NPS) staff off-guard, with checks now having to be undertaken to assess nationality and tourists often turning away from entrances rather than pay the surcharge. The Guardian heard accounts of problems from several NPS staff, speaking anonymously, who work at different parks across the country.
Environmental advocates have argued that the newly tiered fees are also illegal under federal law and are suing to reverse them.
DOI Censors America the Beautiful Passes:
SFGATE: DOI cracks down on stickers covering Trump's face on national park passes
By Sam Hill | January 5, 2026
Covering up Donald Trump’s face on an America the Beautiful pass may come with an extra cost at national park entrance gates this year.
The Department of the Interior recently updated its “Void if Altered” rules for 2026, explicitly flagging stickers and other coverings as alterations that could invalidate the pass. The move appears to respond to visitors preparing to cover the image of Trump, which was set to begin appearing on passes Jan. 1 despite legal challenges.
[...] The updated guidance arrives as some artists and small businesses have begun selling stickers designed to cover the image on the front of the America the Beautiful pass. Colorado ecologist and watercolor artist Jenny McCarty recently began selling stickers featuring scenes from national parks, saying the designs are meant as a form of protest and an effort to restore what she views as the pass’s aesthetic purpose. McCarty told SFGATE in December that she had received more than 100 orders in two days, with proceeds earmarked for national park-related nonprofits.
Washington Post: Want to cover Trump’s face on your national park pass? That’ll cost you.
By Ambrosia Wojahn & Jake Spring | January 6, 2026
Visitors to national parks who plan on covering President Donald Trump’s face on their 2026 entrance passes may face additional fees, according to a policy document distributed to staff in late December and a parks employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.
[...] Kierán Suckling, founder and director of the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group that has filed suit over the imagery on the new pass, said the updated alteration policy was likely a response to people selling stickers online for visitors to place over Trump’s face.
“Covering up important information on the pass would be fraud,” Suckling said. “Covering Donald Trump’s face, however, is not fraud. Trump is once again trying to make it illegal for people to make a public statement against him.”
Outside Magazine: The Battle over Trump’s Face on the National Parks Pass Takes a Weird Turn
By Frederick Dreier | January 7, 2026
Back in November, the Department of the Interior (DOI) released the designs for the 2026 America the Beautiful National Parks Pass—the plastic card that gains entry to all 433 sites managed by the NPS. One of the new designs featured the visage of George Washington alongside that of Donald Trump. A nonprofit called the Center for Biological Diversity, which advocates for the protection of endangered species, has filed a lawsuit over the design, arguing that a federal law requires the pass image to be chosen via a photo competition.
Enter McCarty, a Colorado artist who paints pictures of—among other things—national park landscapes. She created stickers from her art that can be placed over the photo of Trump and Washington, transforming the pass from an item of political inspiration to one inspired by nature.
[...] McCarty’s stickers generated a glut of national media attention, but also major pushback from the governmental agencies overseeing the passes. On January 5, SFGATE reported that the DOI quietly distributed an internal memo about stickers placed on America the Beautiful Passes. According to the news outlet, the memo said that NPS can void a person’s pass if it has a sticker on it, and that placing a sticker on the pass constitutes a form of alteration.
Other Reports Coming Out of National Parks and Public Lands:
Utah News Dispatch: Mike Lee backs off change that advocates called a ‘green light’ to sell national parks
By Annie Knox | December 19, 2025
Saying that “selling national parks was never on the table,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee is no longer proposing a change to federal legislation that drew heavy criticism from conservation groups, his office said Friday.
Lee, a Republican, had proposed removing part of a spending bill requiring that national park lands be maintained as federal lands. The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks shot back, saying the move could “green-light the selling off, transferring and giving away of national parks.”
Over the summer, Lee attempted to add a mandate for the sale of some public lands, excluding national parks and national monuments, to Republicans’ megabill. He backed down after outcry from hunting and recreation advocates.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: President Trump is dismantling our national parks
By John Plonski | January 1, 2026
In the 11 months since President Trump began his second term, the National Park System has experienced astounding reductions in personnel, staggering cuts to operations and infrastructure budgets, widespread eliminations of environmental protections, and baffling erasures of historical facts.
National park budget cuts, which were first proposed by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, have totaled roughly 35%.
[...] Taking it to the next step, Trump’s secretary of the interior, Doug Burgum, who oversees national parks, is considering a plan for the elimination of up to 350 park sites across the country. Burgum is apt to diminish or shutter sites that fall vulnerable to Trump’s executive order, cynically titled, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.”
[...] President Trump apparently does not grasp that if parks nationwide are degraded through deep budget cuts, thousands of small businesses located in or near national park gateway communities will suffer, and tens of thousands of employees, mostly in the private sector, will be out of work.
