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Leaders from Utah conservation groups and the Center for Western Priorities called on the Trump administration, Congress, and Utah politicians to stop the attacks and attempts to defund and privatize America’s parks and public lands.
At a live taping of The Landscape podcast, the Keep Parks Public tour highlighted the ongoing threats to Utah’s public lands. In Utah, federal staffing and funding cuts have negatively impacted both national parks and national forests. Park visitors face closures, long lines, and degraded services. Forests risk reduced wildfire readiness and deteriorating infrastructure, all while gateway communities like Moab brace for economic fallout.
These attacks on our public lands are likely to get worse, as President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget would cut National Park Service funding by 36 percent, or $1.2 billion, and U.S. Forest Service funding by 35 percent, or $1.6 billion. These cuts would lead to a 30 percent drop in National Park Service staff and a 40 percent drop in Forest Service staff, according to the Center for American Progress. Hollowing out the agencies that manage national public lands helps bolster Utah officials’ argument that the federal government cannot adequately manage public lands, making it easier for the state to take control of public lands—which would ultimately lead to a loss of access to public lands across the state.
“Whether it's attempts to sell off public lands, open them up to more extractive development, or hamstring the efforts of the federal agencies that manage these remarkable places, the intent is clear: dismantling a core part of Utah and the American West’s identity, economy, and way of life,” said Scott Braden, executive director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
The Keep Parks Public tour wraps up in Grand Junction, Colorado tonight with another live taping of The Landscape podcast!
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America’s public lands are under attack from every angle, thanks to anti-public lands members of Congress and the Trump administration. Even as a public lands expert and conservation advocate, it’s hard to keep track of the onslaught of destructive policies, funding cuts, and firings threatening the very existence of our public lands right now.”
