Giving Compass' Take:
- Cristen Hemingway Jaynes reports on a new budget proposal that would cut funding for the National Park Service by over $1 billion.
- What is the value of conserving public lands such as National Parks? What is the role of donors in conservation and efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change?
- Learn more about key climate justice issues and how you can help.
- Search our Guide to Good for nonprofits focused on climate justice in your area.
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The Trump administration recently released a budget proposal that includes more than $1 billion in cuts to the National Park Service (NPS), a press release from the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) said.
It would be the largest reduction in the over 100-year history of the NPS, and could mean a more than three-quarters cutback to the system.
“The president’s proposed budget plan is beyond extreme. It is catastrophic. Every action taken so far by this administration has chipped away at national parks and their staff, but this budget is the final blow. If enacted by Congress, our national park system would be completely decimated,” said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the NPCA, in the press release. “The numbers speak for themselves. Proposed cuts of this magnitude could shutter at least 350 national parks sites across the country, effectively more than 75% of our Park System. This proposal is an all-out assault on America’s national parks.”
The specific national parks being targeted will not likely be known until President Donald Trump’s full budget is released later this month. But, a review of the most recent reliable data on the budget for each National Park System unit revealed that achieving $900 million in operational cuts would require the elimination of funding for approximately 350 park sites.
The Trump administration has also taken aim at dozens of grants for the NPS, including some with the purpose of protecting public lands from the impacts of climate change, an internal agency document that detailed the plans said, as The New York Times reported.
A spreadsheet of grants that were likely to be canceled asserts that $26 million could be saved by canceling grants to state historic preservation offices, Tribes, universities and youth corps.
Kristen Brengel, NPCA’s senior vice president of government, said the move was saving the agency little money while losing an enormous amount of knowledge and expertise.
Read the full article about funding cuts to National Parks by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes at EcoWatch.