Weekly Watch: Burgum Chases Foreign Adventurism While Leaving Our Parks Mismanaged
Burgum Twists Himself Into a Pretzel for Foreign Oil Adventurism; 2026 Means Our National Parks Are Even More Mismanaged
HELENA, MT – Save Our Parks is tracking the massive assault against America’s national parks and public lands system by Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and their cronies, documenting the ongoing consequences of Trump’s unprecedented attack on our nation’s natural heritage.
Doug Burgum has a knack for pissing off just about everyone. He’s spent the start of 2026 twisting himself into a pretzel defending the Trump administration foreign oil adventurism in Venezuela, and can’t seem to get his story straight. After Trump announced that taxpayers would be on the hook for reimbursing companies who rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, Burgum took it upon himself to contradict Trump multiple times, saying the exact opposite. This was a reversal of Burgum’s own previous position, where he claimed America could accelerate Venezuelan oil production very quickly. Burgum’s global energy piracy puts him at odds with Big Oil industry leaders, who don’t want anything to do with Venezuela. Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said the quiet part out loud in a White House meeting: the country is uninvestable.
U.S. domestic shale producers are issuing warnings and growing more and more concerned about Burgum’s foreign favoritism. As a member of Trump’s “National Energy Dominance Council,” Burgum is the face of the cheap Venezuelan oil fantasy, which is “the last thing anyone wants” in the heart of America’s oil patch. On top of that, Burgum’s domestic export push and attacks on clean energy, like personally ordering the halt of Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind project, are driving surging gas and electrical prices for Americans. Burgum’s agenda has left him at odds with Trump, Big Oil, American communities, and voters across the country.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber is trying to force mining in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the most visited wilderness in America. And the Republican Study Committee (RSC) just released a framework for selling off America’s national parks and public lands. In an outline for new budget legislation they’d like to pass in 2026, the RSC proposed directing “relevant federal agencies to sell off or lease at a low rate underused and/or underutilized federal properties.” The language is almost a mirror image of Utah Senator Mike Lee’s previous public land selloff legislation, which was so unpopular he was forced to withdraw it. If ‘federal properties’ is included in any budget language, it would leave the door wide open for Burgum to sell public lands off to his and Trump’s pals. The vast majority of Americans strongly oppose this scheme.
Burgum’s mismanagement is also making our parks worse in 2026, and the overwhelming majority of Americans aren’t happy about it either. National Park Rangers are now being forced to collect higher entry fees from international visitors, a change meant to intimidate non-citizens and keep them away, which will hurt gateway communities, small businesses, and rural America. Just two weeks into the new year, we’re already seeing the disastrous results. Even this far out from peak visitor season for many national parks, entrance wait times are skyrocketing as Burgum forces NPS employees to ask every single car whether or not they have international tourists visiting America’s best idea and cherished national parks inside. People are already wondering whether information gathered from national park entrances by Burgum will be given to federal immigration authorities.
To top it all off, the New Year means that Trump’s face is now being printed on park passes, and Burgum’s Interior Department is warning people who cover up his weird mug that their passes will be considered invalid.
Parks and Public Lands in the News:
Safety and Preparedness
SFGate: Forever chemicals and medications detected in national park waters
“Scientists have detected “forever chemicals” and traces of pharmaceutical drugs in water sources along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, raising new concerns about how treated wastewater may be moving through one of the nation’s most popular national parks.”
The Travel: How California's National Park Item Ban Is Impacting Visitor Safety
“This policy contrasts with other U.S. parks, especially those in grizzly territory, where bear spray is recommended for safety.”
Privatization and Sell-Offs
Idaho Capital Sun: The worst fate for Idaho’s public lands? Private ownership. The second-worst fate? State management.
“That’s the snake oil sale being peddled by Congressman Russ Fulcher.”
E&E News: ‘Totally entangled’: Interior official with conflicts skirts oversight
“A top Trump administration official who has failed to disclose her connections to a massive lithium mine in Nevada has a history of navigating financial entanglements while serving in top positions at the Interior Department that don’t require Senate confirmation.”
National Parks Traveler: Pinnacles National Park Would Be At Risk Under Drilling Plans In California
“The Trump administration has released plans to open more than 1 million acres of public lands and mineral rights to oil and gas drilling and fracking in Southern California and the Central Valley, Central Coast, and Bay Area, including in areas near Pinnacles National Park, Carrizo Plain National Monument, and several California state parks.”
Community Impacts
Washington Post: How Trump’s plan to charge foreigners more is causing chaos at national parks
“‘It’s meant to make people feel nervous and uncomfortable and make the decision to either stay away or to modify their plans based on their identities,’ said Mneesha Gellman, a political scientist at Emerson College who serves as an expert witness in U.S. immigration court.”
E&E News: NPS rangers warn visitors on stickers covering Trump’s face on park passes
“A cottage industry has since sprung up of stickers to cover the president’s image on the passes. But under updated National Park Service guidance, those stickers could invalidate the cards. The new guidance, first reported by the website SFGate, explicitly cites stickers as verboten.”
National Parks Traveler: EPA Disapproves Colorado’s Plan To Improve Air Quality In National Parks
“The EPA disapproved Colorado’s Regional Haze State Implementation Plan, which was broadly supported by the state, utilities, industry, and environmental groups. The state’s plan includes retirement deadlines for coal plants that several utilities voluntarily proposed and asked the state to include in its plan.”
Yahoo News: Joshua Tree National Park closes two popular trails for months
“Joshua Tree National Park recently announced the temporary closure of two of its most popular trails during the park's busiest seasons. The Fortynine Palms and Cholla Cactus Garden trails will be partially or fully closed through winter and most of spring, the National Park Service announced Tuesday.”
13 News: International tourist fees now in effect at Grand Canyon, other national parks
“Many businesses have told our team in the past that they are already hurting from low international tourism and are worried about what this new policy could mean for their financial future. ‘That should be revenue for tourism,’ Braun said. ‘We should welcome people here, so charging for it in my opinion makes no sense.’”
Stories on the Trail
@americanhuntersanglers: Trump wants to hand over your public land to this guy. Republican Steve Pearce, a longtime DC politician with a record of trying to sell off our public lands, is Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management. This agency oversees 245 million acres of hunting, fishing, and recreation land owned by all of us.
@National_Parks_Traveler: The Trump administration has released plans to open more than 1 million acres of public lands and mineral rights to oil and gas drilling and fracking in Southern California and the Central Valley, Central Coast, and Bay Area, including in areas near Pinnacles National Park, Carrizo Plain National Monument, and several California state parks.
@NPCA: The Roadless Area Conservation Rule turns 25 today. It protects 45 million acres of national forestlands from clear-cutting and roadbuilding. 2026 is the year that we must do everything in our power to defend the rule.
@protectNPS: New national park fee policies are causing confusion, delays, and added strain on park staff, reports @usatoday. “This policy is also an additional burden on National Park staff, who are still grappling with a 24% reduction in the permanent workforce.”
@washingtonpost: Visitors traveling to U.S. national parks are facing a new question at the gate: Are you a United States resident? That question is already causing longer wait times to enter parks and is leading some foreign tourists to turn away at the gates.
The Crisis Continues:
The crisis continues to escalate across America’s 640-million-acre public lands system and is poised to get worse after Trump’s spending package, passed by Congressional Republicans, slashed some $267 million of previously committed funding for national parks. The National Park Service has lost nearly a quarter of its permanent workforce since Trump took office, with some parks now operating without superintendents and at half-staff during peak visitation. Between Trump, DOGE, and Republicans’ draconian budget cuts, hiring freezes, and workforce reductions, the staffing shortages are forcing scientists, park rangers, and other safety personnel to clean toilets and pick up garbage instead of conducting critical work like ongoing maintenance and supporting visitor safety.
Save Our Parks documents and exposes conditions across America’s federal park and public lands system through monitoring reports, visitor testimonials, and accountability research. The campaign maintains comprehensive documentation through its website at SaveOurParks.us.
To speak with Save Our Parks spokesperson Jayson O’Neill, email jayson@focalpointstrategygroup.com.
###
