Trump’s Budget Plan Threatens America’s Beloved National Parks
The new budget plan from President Trump for 2026 wants to cut more than $1 billion from the National Park Service. This would be the biggest cut in the agency’s 109-year history. The plan also suggests giving some national park sites to states, which no president has ever proposed before.
These huge cuts would badly harm our national parks, which are already facing money problems. This comes right after a very successful year in 2024, when parks had over 331 million visitors.
Popular and valuable
Despite how popular and valuable these parks are, “the administration continues to systematically dismantle the Park Service”, writes the National Parks Conservation Association – freezing hiring, forcing people to quit, stopping purchases, ending leases, and not allowing travel.
The budget cuts include:
- $900 million less for running national parks
- $73 million less for park construction
- $77 million less for recreation and preservation
- $197 million less for historic preservation
Theresa Pierno, President and CEO of National Parks Conservation Association, said: “This is the most extreme, unrealistic and destructive National Park Service budget a President has ever proposed in the agency’s 109-year history. It’s nothing less than an all-out assault on America’s national parks.”
Dismantle the Park Service
She also stated: “Americans love their national parks and want to see them protected, but this administration’s actions do not match the will of the people. This administration is trying to dismantle the Park Service from the inside out, slashing park staff and now attempting to give away hundreds of national park sites that protect our nation’s irreplaceable history and culture and inspire and educate millions every year.”
“For generations, Americans have believed that some places are so special that they should be protected for all time, and for all to experience. And that’s the mission Congress gave to the Park Service more than one hundred years ago.”
Greatest protectors and storytellers
“The Park Service is our nation’s greatest protectors and storytellers. And our more than 430 national parks are our nation’s greatest legacy. Any effort to hand many of these sites over to the states is a betrayal, and the American people won’t stand for it. If members of Congress truly care about the future of our national parks, now is the time to speak out and put a stop to this.”
She concluded: “This proposal strikes at the heart of who we are as a nation. NPCA and our millions of supporters are ready to fight back—for our parks, for our history and for our future.”
