Trump is proposing 1.2 billion in cuts to the National Park's budget by transferring properties to the states or tribal management.

[Diane Greer]

There is an article in Bloomberg and some other media outlets about how Trump wants to cut 1.2 billion from the National Parks budget by offloading preserves, monuments and recreation areas to the states or tribal management.

See;

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-06-02/trump-plans-to-offload-national-park-sites-but-states-don-t-want-them

 

[fossana]

I live within an hour to Zion NP. Utah politicians want to reap the economic benefits of Park tourism, but do virtually nothing to mitigate the environmental, traffic, recreational, wildfire or water-related impacts. I shudder to think what would happen if the Utah parks were "managed" like State Trust Lands.

+ a KUER article on SAR impacts: https://www.kuer.org/sports-recreat...arch-and-rescue-teams-could-be-stretched-thin

 

[Bob]

It's about obscure and less used sites....... check the entire line of questioning first.

The gutting of the National Park Service

Plus: An attack on pro-Israel protesters in Colorado, a conservative wins Poland's presidential elections, and more...

reason.com

 

[zionsky]

Cut $1.2 billion and ALL parks will suffer! And that's unfortunate whether you visit national parks or not.

 

[fossana]

I'm sure those 13 full-time employees laid off at Zion NP this Feb were also "dispensable", like the "obscure" recreational areas.

 

[kwc]

Not exactly some obscure parks and monuments …

National Park Service Budget Cuts
- Overall Reduction: The NPS budget would be slashed by $1.2 billion, dropping from $2.67 billion to $1.8 billion, a 31% decrease and the largest cut in the agency’s 109-year history.
- Operational Funding: A $900 million cut to park operations could force the closure of up to 350 park units, impacting more than 75% of the National Park System.
- Natural Resource Programs: Funding would be cut by 95%, gutting efforts to protect ecosystems and wildlife.
- Cultural Programs: A 60% reduction would jeopardize preservation of historic landmarks and cultural heritage sites.
- National Heritage Areas Program: This program, supporting 62 regions nationwide, would be completely defunded.
- Land and Water Conservation Fund: Funding would be eliminated entirely, cutting off a critical lifeline for parks, wildlife refuges, and public lands.

In 2019, national parks generated $41.7 billion in economic output and supported 340,500 jobs nationwide.

 

[Diane Greer]

KWC's numbers are helpful in understanding the magnitude of the cuts and the important programs that will be impacted by the cuts. Here is the National Parks Conservation Association reaction to the cut: https://www.npca.org/articles/8495-...get-could-decimate-at-least-350-national-park

Interestingly in 2022 there were 153.8 million tax return filed in the U.S.. To avoid 1.9 billion in cuts each return would need to pay an additional $12.35. Small price to pay to preserve our public lands, conservation programs and national heritage sites/programs. Not to mention all those jobs. We are talking about places like Chaco Canyon and Natural Bridges, just to name two that come immediately to mind. (These numbers are also ignoring the revenue raised through visitor fees.)

How can this possibly make sense?

 

[fossana]

The other thing to keep in mind is that many of the parks and recreation areas have non-profit partners that take up the slack through private donations, for example. This is not a sustainable model. Given the multitude of benefits that we receive from our public lands, and widespread bipartisan support, it's disturbing how little value is placed on them by this administration in lieu of tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and a $45M+ birthday parade.