DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Our National Parks

As of May 2026, the Trump administration is enacting significant changes to national parks, focusing on restructuring historical exhibits to emphasize American achievements, resulting in the removal of hundreds of displays regarding slavery and climate change. These actions, alongside a 25% reduction in staffing since 2025 and proposed 2027 budget cuts, are damaging to our National Parks.

https://ncph.org/history-at-work/trumps-attacks-on-national-parks-is-an-attack-on-public-history/

This is tragic for every American and for Our National Parks which has been an American treasure since 1916.

It makes me sick.

Millions and millions of people from all over the world come to Our Parks. We all have benefited from the foresight of Presidents like Teddy Roosevelt and other Presidents who have protected these magnificent displays of our county's beauty .

Now we have this corrupt criminal destroying what belongs to all of us.

Trump administration finalizes plan to open pristine Alaska wildlife refuge to oil and gas drilling

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Trump administration on Thursday finalized plans to open the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to potential oil and gas drilling, renewing a long-simmering debate over whether to drill in one of the nation's environmental jewels.

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the decision Thursday that paves the way for future lease sales within the refuge's 1.5 million-acre ( 631,309 hectare) coastal plain, an area that's considered sacred by the Indigenous Gwich'in. The plan fulfills pledges made by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to reopen this portion of the refuge to possible development. Trump's bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, passed during the summer, called for at least four lease sales within the refuge over a 10-year period.

Burgum was joined in Washington, D.C., by Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state's congressional delegation for this and other lands-related announcements, including the department's decision to restore oil and gas leases in the refuge that had been canceled by the prior administration.

A federal judge in March said the Biden administration lacked authority to cancel the leases, which were held by a state corporation that was the major bidder in the first-ever lease sale for the refuge held at the end of Trump's first term.

Leaders in Indigenous Gwich'in communities near the refuge consider the coastal plain sacred, noting its importance to a caribou herd they rely upon, and they oppose drilling there. Leaders of Kaktovik, an Iñupiaq community within the refuge, support drilling and consider responsible oil development to be key to their region's economic well-being.

"It is encouraging to see decisionmakers in Washington advancing policies that respect our voice and support Kaktovik's long term success," Kaktovik Iñupiat Corp. President Charles "CC" Lampe said in a statement.

A second lease sale in the refuge, held near the end of President Joe Biden's term, yielded no bidders but critics of the sale argued it was too restrictive in scope.

Meda DeWitt, Alaska senior manager with The Wilderness Society, said that with Thursday's announcement the administration "is placing corporate interests above the lives, cultures and spiritual responsibilities of the people whose survival depends on the Porcupine caribou herd, the freedom to live from this land and the health of the Arctic Refuge."

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/nx-s1-5584883/trump-alaska-wildlife-refuge-oil-gas-drilling

There is much more to the article at the link provided.

Different people have different priorities. The preservation of these wonderful gifts of nature God has blessed us with isn't very high on some people's priority list. Instead they wish to kill renewable energy and exploit our land handing it over to the uber wealthy oil companies.

Murica!

I cannot put into words how angry I am.

right from the playbook that piggy seemed to know nothing about

Project 2025 proposes a massive overhaul of federal land management, aiming to pivot the Department of the Interior from conservation toward energy extraction. Key proposals include repealing the Antiquities Act to reduce national monument sizes, increasing oil/gas drilling in protected areas, and reversing the "30 by 30" land protection goal.Key Impacts on National Parks & Public LandsReduced Protections: The plan advocates for reversing national monument designations and shrinking boundaries to open lands to mining and drilling.Increased Drilling/Mining:
Project 2025 calls for expanding resource extraction in areas currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and near national parks.Repeal of Antiquities Act:
The plan suggests repealing the 1906 Act, which allows presidents to designate monuments.Personnel Changes:
It proposes replacing career staff with political appointees and restructuring the Department of the Interior to prioritize resource extraction over conservation.Wildlife Impact: .
It suggests weakening the Endangered Species Act and removing protections for species like grizzly bears and gray wolves.
Budgetary ContextAs of March 2024, the National Park Service proposed a budget of $3.57 billion for FY 2025. Project 2025, however, focuses on reducing federal footprint and increasing industry access, which contrasts with typical conservation-based park budgeting.

This is something I hope Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and everyone else should fight against.

Then trump has the audacity to put his picture on Park passes and now passports.

If any American looks into all that had to happen in order to have National Parks. I think they would want to protect this incredible resource.

He wastes billions on a war he promised not to be engaged in.

U.S. national debt has surged to over $39 trillion, having grown by approximately $2.77 trillion in the past year alone.

And now he is out to destroy what has been in place since 1916 for all Americans.

One may begin to think the things he is doing has nothing to do with "All Americans".

If they belonged to us we wouldn't have a pay to enter.

Technically you don't have to pay to enter the Smokies by charter mandate. The work around is if you park for over 10 minutes you have to purchase a parking sticker.

I know most people have been to one of the parks but most only one or two of them, and then only once or twice.

Unbelievable attitude. Sorry - that sort of shrug of the shoulders and lack of any interest in something so important to so many is ... I don't even have the words. It speaks of someone totally groomed to defend and enable anything TD does.

Over 323 million recreational visits were recorded across the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) system in 2025. While this number reflects total visits (including international tourists and repeat visits by individuals), it highlights the immense popularity of the 433 NPS units, which include 63 designated national parks

People that supported Trump always ask me why I wouldn't want a successful business man to run the country,., Truth be told, a successful business man with the Best Interest of America at heart probably wouldn't be too bad at all..

But here's an example of why that person is not Trump, the guy who has so many bankruptcies.

"National Park Service (NPS) visitor spending in 2024 generated a $56.3 billion benefit to the U.S. economy, including $29 billion in local gateway regions. This activity supported 340,000 jobs and $18.8 billion in labor income, while the agency operates on a federal budget of approximately $3–$3.5 billion annually"

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Revenue+from+the+National+Park+service

He takes something that's working perfectly,, and screws it up for his own personal beliefs. That's a move that, unless this leader is some kinda savant, will fail almost every time.

Trump does that constantly.....

All because he wants to "WHITEIFY" America. We are not a Totally White Nation. Why in the hell would you hide that. Shouldn't we celebrate our diversity.......

And I gotta tell you, I don't think it's even him.. It's who ever is pulling his strings... I'll leave it to all of you to decide who that might be.

You are hilarious as per usual. I find your comments ironic. For decades you have been saying that whatever we have or any benefits we have should be paid for. That the costs shouldn't be passed on in the form of debt.

Yet when people pay to enter these parks to help offset the costs of upkeep, maintenance and help pay forest rangers you say, it must not be ours because we have to pay to get in? When you have to pay to put a roof on your house or a new HVAC unit does that mean your house doesn't belong to you because you have to pay to maintain it?

No wonder Native Americans said "White man speak with forked tongue."

Great post - except one detail. Trump (other than his grifting and lining his pockets with Russian money or as POTUS) is not a successful business man.

He was handed a minimum of $413 million in the 1990's and it was done to avoid paying inheritance taxes.

If he had simply plonked that into an dow jones index linked fund or something similar - that would be worth about $14 Billion today.

Trump under any definition has not been good with money and business. It has been reported that financially 'The Aprentice' saved his bacon - he earned a total of $427 million from the show.

Links:

inheritance

The Aprentice

Yes they belong to us no question. But like most everything, they need maintained. That costs money.. As I pointed out above, we bring in WAY more than it costs. What's this numbnuts wants to do is create more unemployment and then let the park system slip into a wasteland.

Point is, the park system is taking care of itself very well... Only a MORON would screw with it but like I said, that is what self absorbed business people do..

But hey, keep covering for him. that's what Republicans do.. You are NO LONGER the party of Reagan. More like the party of Hitler.

I'm aware but I thought I'd point it out...

Do you really want to go there? Your party is NO LONGER the party of JFK, hell Bill Clinton. Whooo, uh oh! More like Stalin. See, I can do it too!

It amazes me that you and some people are still pre-occupied with the 2 party system divide that the CIA wants. Don't be so dumb. Neither party are for the American people at this point.

Get a grip.

So it's a political Trump post. Got it.

I don't have anything against the parks. Off the top of my head I have been to the Smokies, Arcadia, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Death Valley, and Everglades. Probably a few of the lesser parks. I went to some sand dunes in Mich. that I think were a part of the system, as an example. I may take the train through the Cuyahoga Valley park though I have probably driven through areas before it was a park. Most of Alaska seems to be national park space so I was probably in one or two there.

Sorry if I don't share the same passion. I have done all the Eifel Tower bit before. I don't have any need to go do it again. Been there, done that.

Obviously you don't get it.

Who cares where you have gone?

For crying out loud I gave you more credit.

This is about what is good for the people of this country.

Not your selfish point of view.

Follow the topic. The "National Parks" are "Public Land."

They are "our" shared resource to be enjoyed by the people.

They were created by men with foresight to protect what is beautiful and must be protected.

So it is ok by you that all that has gone into a National treasure enjoyed by billions of people to be ruined by a megalomaniac ?

Ok I have your warped view.

What do you think this has been about from the very start? It's about the actions the trump administration has been taking..................

As of May 2026, the Trump administration is enacting significant changes to national parks, focusing on restructuring historical exhibits to emphasize American achievements, resulting in the removal of hundreds of displays regarding slavery and climate change. These actions, alongside a 25% reduction in staffing since 2025 and proposed 2027 budget cuts, are damaging to our National Parks.

https://ncph.org/history-at-work/trumps-attacks-on-national-parks-is-an-attack-on-public-history/

Trump administration finalizes plan to open pristine Alaska wildlife refuge to oil and gas drilling

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/nx-s1-5584883/trump-alaska-wildlife-refuge-oil-gas-drilling

You're just now coming to the understanding these things are a result of trump's actions and that's what this is about?

Erasing black history, slashing funding and opening up national lands to oil companies. Who did you think was responsible for these things? The Wicked Witch of the west?

Just more TDS!!!

Trump Devotion Syndrome?

He lies about everything.

You remain devoted.

He takes money away from food for the poor. The most un-Christian thing someone could do.

You remain devoted.

He cheats on all three of his wives.

You remain devoted.

He is convicted on 34 felony charges.

You remain devoted.

A jury finds him libel for sexually assaulting a woman.

You remain devoted.

He depicts himself as Jesus.

You remain devoted.

The list goes on and on while you remain devoted. Yes, that's a serious issue.

What is so difficult to understand here?

TDS?

WTF?

These are "Public Lands." They are for all of us Republicans, Democrats, Atheists, Independents, all Americans.

I don't care if your head is embedded in trump's rear end.

How about leaving the legacy of "our National Parks" to future generations to enjoy.

If you are that selfish and so trump deranged. Leave your head where it is embedded and enjoy that view.

Facts are not his friend. And as per usual he blames everyone for pointing out the things trump does instead of the man who are doing these things. It's what they do. What else can they do? They certainly can't defend his actions so they deflect by blaming us for it.

Damn, just apply common sense.

trump is who he is.

The issue is this blind cult following. Nothing disturbs the worship.

trump was right he can do anything no matter what. Defy the Constitution. Attempt to overthrow an election. "Find me x number of votes so I can win Georgia. On tape for all to hear. Lie like the truth is against the law.

Uneffing believable. I gave people way more credit than deserved.

I thought that in this case about our National Parks some logic or a sense of loyalty to the common good would apply.

I am wrong. None of that matters.