Guest column: Don’t let anyone diminish our national parks

Published 9:43 am Friday, July 4, 2025

The National Park System, NPS, is the keeper of our national treasures.

It includes 433 national parks, with n63 historic parks with familiar names such as Acadia, Everglades, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone; 11 battlefield parks; 31 national memorials and 87 national monuments.

The NPS welcomed 325.5 million visitors in 2023 an increase of 13 million from 2022. Another nugget of information is from the National Parks Conservation Association: “The Park Service is only a small portion of our federal budget — less than one-fifteenth of 1%. And for every dollar Congress invest in the Park Service, more than $15 is generated in economic activity.”

The National Park Service may be in danger as a result of the 2024 federal election. Unlike the Obama administration and the Biden Administration that did things to protect our national treasures, the Trump Administration has a different agenda and focus. The new Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum’s approach to public lands is focused on energy exploration. On Feb. 3, Secretary Doug Burgum issued the order: “Unleashing American Energy.” What this calls for is a 15-day internal review of oil, gas and mining on public lands, including national monuments, designated under the Antiquities Act. The Antiquities Act of 1906 is a conservation law that has been used by both Republican and Democratic presidents to safeguard public lands. An already done deal is the elimination of more than 2,000 National Park employees. Anyone who has visited a national park, such as Crater Lake, knows how important the rangers and other staff are. These folks succeed in making our visit even more memorable.

Please contact your Congressional representative and ask that they push back on the administration’s actions for what it will do for the future of our national treasures.  Also, we citizens can help with a tax deductible contribution to either of the following two organizations:

1.The National Parks Conservation Association began in 1919. It is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization devoted exclusively to advocacy on behalf of the National Parks System. Its mission is to protect and enhance American’s National Park System for present and future generations.

2. The National Park Foundation was chartered by Congress in 1967 and is rooted in a legacy that began more than a century ago when private citizens from all walks of life took action to establish and protect national parks. It is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization.

If you want to learn more about what this present Republican administration is doing to our national treasures please read a blog post written by two concerned citizens John Gardner and  Angela Gonzales dated Feb. 4 titled, “How the New Administrations’s Actions Will Affect National Parks.” You can find it here: tinyurl.com/blogparks.

Malcolm Turzak lives in Bend.