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Friend — fewer park rangers, shuttered programs, and crumbling infrastructure in our nation’s most cherished landscapes. |
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These are the consequences of Congressional Republicans’ proposed budget cuts to our public lands. |
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I’m reaching out from the road, where my team is rallying support for public lands in a major new initiative with our state affiliates in the Conservation Voters Movement. From Colorado’s rugged mountain peaks to Maine’s historic coastal trails, folks from all over are joining us for hikes, campouts, demonstrations, and town halls to speak out for our public lands and against the sell-off. |
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Each and every one of these places is at serious risk — and we need your help: In just days, Congress will return from recess and could vote on bills that would slash billions in funding from public land agencies like the National Park Service. Trump has also proposed slashing National Park operations by nearly 40%, the biggest cut in history. |
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Friend, we need your support right now to keep this campaign on the move — from Mt. Hood National Forest in Oregon to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, to the forests and coastlines of Acadia in Maine to Chuckwalla National Monument in the California desert, and beyond. |
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TIMING IS CRITICAL. Congress is about to return to Washington, D.C. — and is set to take major votes that will decide funding levels for forest and park rangers and other key staff who steward our public lands. We have to raise the pressure while there’s still time. |
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The stakes for Congress’ September 30 budget deadline are sky-high, Friend. If we don’t mobilize as many people as possible to advocate for public lands, we could be facing: - The most drastic cuts to the National Park Service in history, as Trump has proposed slashing $1.2 billion from the National Park Service — nearly 40 percent of its operating budget. These reckless cuts will make our national parks less accessible and less safe for the public by shuttering critical visitor services, halting maintenance projects, and ending cultural programs.
- More staffing shortages at national parks, stretching the staff who remain after mass DOGE firings, layoffs, and hiring freezes even thinner, and leaving ticket booths unmanned, visitor services in shambles, and critical infrastructure upkeep to fall by the wayside.
- An uncertain future for public lands’ wildlife and ecosystems as Congress could FURTHER cut or cancel critical projects like habitat restoration, wildfire prevention, and invasive species management, threatening biodiversity and the long-term health and survival of public lands.
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This is already happening and it could get even worse. At Montana’s Glacier National Park, staff cuts and hiring freezes have left the park’s staff in survival mode, with their infrastructure deteriorating, emergency response compromised, and morale collapsing after losing a quarter of their workforce. |
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Our campaign is fighting back, bringing people together within local communities to defend the lands and waters that belong to all of us. Together, we can win this fight. But we need your help, Friend. |
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In solidarity, America Fitzpatrick
LCV Conservation Program Director
League of Conservation Voters |
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