The National Parks are near and dear to the hearts of many Americans. The U.S. is home to a wide array of stunning landscapes and is known for being one of the most naturally diverse nations in the world. As the U.S. transitions to a new presidency, maintaining and funding the National Park Service (NPS) has been put on the back burner as the Trump administration implements severe budget cuts to the NPS.

Who?

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, is cutting the budgets of many federal government departments. Ordinarily, the House of Representatives sets the federal budget, which is then approved by the Senate and finally by President Donald Trump. However, DOGE is cutting funding without consulting the federal budget set by Congress.

What?

DOGE is cutting the federal budget for 2025, cutting about $150 million from the NPS.

Where?
These budget cuts are in all NPS-managed areas, which are not just the national parks but also federal monuments, federal recreation areas, and historic sites. These include places like the home of Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, and Ford Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

Why?
Cutting costs was a key factor that President Trump campaigned on. In his first few weeks in office, he created DOGE to cut bureaucratic costs. However, it is important to note that natural resources and the environment make up only 2% of federal spending.

How?
Many people are confused as to how the NPS’s budget is being cut. DOGE has mandated the budget cut but does not have the statutory authority to do so; only Congress can set the federal budget and apportion funding to federal agencies. So how is DOGE doing this? The simple answer is that no one knows; they just are.

Effects:
Many experts report little economic benefit to cutting funding for the NPS. They argue that the NPS generates a lot of tourism revenue and is already understaffed. Because of the funding cuts, visitors have reported that fewer gates have been opened and long lines are entering parks, and many people have protested these budget cuts.

As tourists and photographers gathered to witness Yosemite National Park’s annual Firefall, a different spectacle took place: a group, which allegedly contained NPS employees, hung an upside-down American flag on the cliffs of Yosemite in protest of the Trump administration’s funding cuts.