NEW: Research Report Reveals Systematic Destruction of Parks & Public Lands Under Trump And Burgum
Save Our Parks Drops ‘Parks & Public Lands Under Siege’ Report as Burgum Wastes Taxpayer Money on Trump’s Personal Gestapo, Heightening Staff Shortages and Putting Users At Risk
HELENA, MT – A new research report, “Parks & Public Lands Under Siege,” released by Save Our Parks details how America’s natural heritage and birthright, our parks and public lands, are under unprecedented assault by Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and their cronies. The release of the report follows Trump and billionaire Interior Sec. Burgum’s directive to divert already understaffed and underfunded National Park Service police to the administration’s authoritarian takeover of our nation’s capital.
The crisis documented in this report is already playing out in real time across America’s most treasured landscapes. Recent reporting reveals that Washington’s beloved Enchantments wilderness area now has just one ranger patrolling 900 miles of trails in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, down from 11 employees last year, with that single ranger tasked with everything from public safety and toilet maintenance to assisting hikers and ensuring permit compliance. This devastating reduction exemplifies what More Than Just Parks describes as a systematic gutting: “The Park Service is losing the people who once carried out its core mission – the rangers, biologists, and cultural resource specialists who put preservation before profit. In their place, concessionaires and contractors are moving in.”
“The mask is completely off Trump, Burgum, and their cronies’ effort to undermine our parks, public lands, and wildlife. This research report exposes the true agenda behind billionaire Burgum’s fail-by-design scheme: deliberately understaffing, underfunding, and mismanaging our public lands and parks so that they can be sold off and privatized,” said Save Our Parks spokesperson Jayson O’Neill.
The Parks & Public Lands Under Siege research report released today reveals the alarming scope of Burgum’s destruction of America’s national park and public land system:
Critical Safety Crisis: The National Park Service has lost 24% of its permanent staff and only filled 56% of its seasonal positions, while Grand Canyon National Park announced that help for injured visitors may be delayed, urging visitors to be “self-reliant.” In July 2025, a teenager died while swimming at Assateague Island National Seashore weeks after Maryland leaders asked the Trump administration to restore lifeguard staffing.
Parks Set Up to Fail: Trump’s FY26 budget proposal calls for a devastating 38% cut that could force the closure of up to 350 park units, while also proposing to transfer park sites to state governments—a move experts recognize as a setup for privatization since states can’t afford to manage them.
Burgum’s Financial Conflicts: The report documents how Burgum has deep financial ties to the fossil fuel industry through oil and gas leases with Continental Resources and Hess Corp., close relationships with billionaire oil executive Harold Hamm, and his spouse owns up to $246,000 in fossil fuel company stock. As North Dakota governor, Burgum designated 25 neighborhoods as federal opportunity zones, including two areas where his company owned properties—allowing his business to benefit from federal tax breaks on projects in zones he personally selected.
Misusing Park Police While Parks Collapse: While Trump deployed 800 National Guard troops, re-detailed National Park Police, and took over the Metropolitan Police Department despite violent crime in DC reaching historic lows, America’s national parks are facing unprecedented dangers:
Scientists and rangers at Yosemite have been forced to clean bathrooms because custodial staff was eliminated
North Cascades National Park operates without a lead wildlife biologist to manage human-bear conflicts
Essential services like locksmith positions have been terminated, creating security concerns
Visitor centers are operating with limited hours and closed sections due to insufficient staff
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has directly challenged the administration’s justification for militarizing the capital. The United States Park Police Labor Committee criticized the severe staffing shortages being ignored and made worse by Trump and Burgum after the Washington, D.C. directive.
The Real Agenda: Privatization and Corporate Profit: The report reveals that former NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis and Science Advisor Gary Machlis have identified the administration’s three-step plan: severely slash NPS budgets and cut park staff, ignore public concerns while allowing parks to deteriorate, then claim the private sector can better run the parks they purposely sabotaged.
To execute this strategy, Burgum installed Kevin Lilly, a wealthy Houston-based investment banker with no meaningful conservation experience, to oversee America’s National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For weeks in July 2025, Lilly operated without proper legal authorization until reporting exposed this arrangement.
“American families deserve national parks that are safe, accessible, and properly maintained—not a shadow system where park police serve as Trump’s personal enforcers while our natural treasures crumble,” O’Neill continued. “Congress must immediately investigate Burgum’s misuse of taxpayer resources and hold him accountable for putting politics over public safety.”
The full Parks & Public Lands Under Siege research report documenting the systematic destruction of America’s public lands under Trump and Burgum’s leadership is available here.
###
