The Trump administration is using the government shutdown as cover to dismantle the very agencies that safeguard our public lands -- from the National Park Service to the Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum is signaling that he wants to keep operating the Department on a skeleton staff -- cutting rangers, scientists, educators, and land managers who are essential to protecting our parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and other public lands. At the same time, the Department continues to move polluting projects forward to line the pockets of corporations and billionaires.
If this plan moves forward, the consequences will be devastating: fewer people to prevent wildfires, patrol sensitive habitats, manage recreation safely, and ensure Indigenous and community voices are represented in public land decisions.
We’ve already seen what happens when our agencies are starved of staff and funding: overflowing trash, damaged trails, closed campgrounds, vandalism, and irreplaceable harm to ecosystems. Now, the administration wants to make that the new normal.
Tell your members of Congress: don’t let the Trump administration hollow out the Interior Department and turn our shared lands into playgrounds for private interests.
Add your name and a personal note -- tell your members of Congress to demand that Secretary Burgum restore staff, funding, and integrity to our public lands agencies.