Shitstain Wants To Offload MI National Parks Onto The State - w/o Budget, Staff Or Training To Make It Possible [View all]

LANSING— A new report from Climate Power warns that President Donald Trump’s vision for shrinking the national park system would stick Michigan with the bill and leave the state’s local communities, particularly those near park sites in Northern Michigan, paying the price. While Congress ultimately rejected a Trump-backed proposal to begin transferring national parks to individual states, advocates say the idea isn’t going away. And if the Trump administration continues to push plans to downsize the National Park Service or abandon some parks altogether, Michigan would be among the hardest hit states, according to the new report.

All told, the report estimates that Trump’s plans would shift more than $150 million in park maintenance and additional staffing costs onto Michigan taxpayers, while simultaneously raising visitor fees, slashing tourism revenue, and putting active military and veterans’ benefits at risk. “It would mean fewer jobs, higher costs for states, and broken promises to veterans and seniors who’ve earned the right to enjoy our parks,” Lori Lodes, executive director of Climate Power, said in a statement announcing the report this week. “We have a responsibility to protect these lands for our children and grandchildren—not abandon them to budget cuts and neglect.”

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According to the Climate Power report:

About $158 million in maintenance costs would be pushed onto Michigan if the state were forced to take over operations at its six federal park sites, including Isle Royale National Park and the Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes national lakeshores.

Entrance fees could spike. Sleeping Bear Dunes currently charges $25 per vehicle. To offset the loss of federal funding, that fee would need to increase to an estimated $65.

Michigan would need to hire at least 110 employees to match current staffing levels, all without the training programs or volunteer networks that currently support federal parks.

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https://gandernewsroom.com/2025/07/18/report-trumps-plan-to-offload-national-parks-would-cost-michigan-millions/