Former national park superintendents urge Trump administration to close parks in case of shutdown

Source: AP

Updated 8:27 PM EDT, September 26, 2025


WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of former national park superintendents is calling on the Trump administration to close the parks to visitors in case of a government shutdown. Past shutdowns in which parks remained open led to vandalism of iconic symbols, destroyed wildlife habitat and endangered visitors, 40 former superintendents said in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

A shutdown now could be even worse as parks are already under strain from a 24% reduction in staff and severe budget cuts, the former park officials said in a letter Thursday. A secretarial order by Burgum directing parks to remain open has led parks to neglect trash collection and other routine maintenance work, the ex-officials said.

The April directive was issued as Burgum came under criticism for staffing cuts across the country amid efforts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to slash federal spending. Burgum directed national parks to “remain open and accessible” despite job cuts and said his department and the National Park Service “are committed to ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to visit and enjoy our Nation’s most treasured places.”

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado on Friday urged federal officials to keep national parks open and staffed, or create some mechanism for the state to help make that happen. Colorado and other states where national parks are major tourist draws lobbied to keep them open during past shutdowns.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-national-parks-burgum-superintendents-trash-b5109ba06f1cb3baef9370f585650136