Weekly Watch: Burgum Jet-Setting As Government Shutdown Deadline Looms
Big Oil Burgum Jet-Setting To International Oil & Gas Conference As Devastating Park & Public Land Budget Cuts Run Into Looming Government Shutdown Deadline
HELENA, MT – Save Our Parks is tracking the massive assault against America’s national parks and public lands system by Donald Trump, billionaire Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and their cronies, documenting the ongoing consequences of Trump’s unprecedented attack on our nation’s natural heritage.
While America's parks and public lands face their worst staffing crisis in history and complete mismanagement, Trump’s secretive Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is jet-setting to an international Big Oil conference. The billionaire is attending the upcoming “energy talk” at the Gastech Exhibition and Conference in Milan, Italy next week. Instead of tackling the real responsibilities of an Interior Secretary, Burgum appears to be doing little related to his actual role, spending his time on Fox News and other friendly media outlets to sell Trump’s failing agenda while leaving Americans to wonder whether their Interior Secretary is working for the public interest or pursuing private business dealings that benefit his extensive corporate network.
These concerns about Burgum’s priorities become even more troubling given his extensive financial conflicts of interest. The Interior Secretary maintains extensive ties to the fossil fuel industry through oil and gas leases with Continental Resources and Hess Corp., plus close relationships with billionaire oil executive Harold Hamm. His spouse owns up to $246,000 in fossil fuel company stock, creating obvious conflicts of interest as he oversees America’s energy resources. Instead of managing our parks and public lands, Burgum has prioritized industrial oil and gas development over all other priorities—consistent with his political maneuvering to advance within Trump’s sphere of influence.
America's national parks and public lands are in crisis under Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s leadership, with devastating staffing cuts leaving America’s natural heritage dangerously understaffed and visitors at risk. While previous Interior Secretaries—including past Trump appointees scandal-plagued Ryan Zinke and oil lobbyist David Bernhardt—maintained public schedules, billionaire Doug Burgum operates in unprecedented secrecy.
As parks crumble from devastating staff losses and emergency response teams operate at a fraction of capacity, Burgum’s whereabouts and activities remain largely hidden from public view, raising serious questions about transparency, accountability, and his job performance during this manufactured fail-by-design crisis aimed at justifying the privatization of our parks, public lands, and wildlife.
As Congress returns to Capitol Hill facing a September 30 deadline to pass Donald Trump’s dangerous budget agenda—with more devastating cuts across the board to national parks, public lands, and wildlife managment—a government shutdown is looming and a real possibility. Trump’s first term demonstrated the devastating impacts of government shutdowns on our parks. At risk: serious safety concerns, even more drastic staffing shortages, uncleaned bathrooms, and harm to wildlife.
Each week, Save Our Parks compiles and distributes a roundup documenting threats to America’s national parks and public lands. Our weekly watch report tracks budget cuts, staffing shortages, privatization efforts, and policy changes affecting our treasured natural and historical sites. Compiled news coverage, eyewitness accounts, and official reports from across the country provide essential information in order to hold the Trump administration, Secretary Burgum, and lawmakers accountable and defend our shared natural heritage.
Parks and Public Lands in the News:
Safety and Preparedness
Politico: Even at Yosemite, 'the shadow of Donald Trump is over everything'
“This summer, many rangers who lead backcountry hikes, swear in junior rangers and operate the entrance booths are working long hours and trying to keep a cheerful demeanor for visitors, despite feeling burdened by the Trump administration’s cutbacks, they said.”
Mother Jones: Will the National Parks Survive Trump?
“From layoffs to billion-dollar budget cuts and ideological battles over history itself, the National Park Service is facing one of the most turbulent moments in its 109-year history…‘I would say myself and every other federal employee has not felt safe in their position,’ Townsend says. ‘It makes it challenging to feel that same passion and drive that you maybe had for your work before.’”
Salt Lake Tribune: Trump shrank staffing of national parks. Now many of them are struggling.
“More than 90 national parks reported problems between April and the end of July stemming from departures, cuts and a hiring freeze, according to internal Interior Department data. Routine tasks like cleaning and stocking the bathrooms have gone undone. Fewer rangers have given tours and lectures. Visitor centers have reduced hours. And parks have lost millions of dollars because they are unable to staff entrances and collect visitor fees.”
Privatization and Sell-Offs
High Country News: Trump looks to suffocate public lands
“The Trump administration, however, is poised to divert hundreds of millions of dollars away from LWCF land purchases and spend it instead on routine maintenance at national parks and other federal lands. Essentially, the administration wants to use money intended for enduring conservation projects to cover up the most obvious consequences of its arbitrary budget and staff cuts at the National Park Service and other agencies. It’s an especially cynical tactic in Republicans’ long-running campaign to defund, and ultimately eliminate, the public lands.”
Reuters: Land and water conservation projects in limbo by Trump administration, outdoor advocates say
“‘The Trump Administration is now blatantly defying the law by failing to provide Congress with detailed spending plans or timelines on Land and Water Conservation Fund projects,’ Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Senate Democrat overseeing the Interior Department’s funding, said in a statement, ‘It should outrage all of us who care about protecting and preserving our public lands.’”
Community Impacts
CBS News: Border Patrol arrests 2 firefighters battling wildfire in Washington state, drawing ire of senator
“Murray responded to the news Thursday by saying the Trump administration has undercut wildland firefighting by ‘decimating the Forest Service’ and their immigration policy ‘is fundamentally sick.’ ‘Here in the Pacific Northwest, wildfires can, and have, burned entire towns to the ground,’ she said in a statement. ‘This new Republican policy to detain firefighters on the job is as immoral as it is dangerous.’”
Daily Beast: National Guard Given Trash Duty Because of Trump’s Own Cuts
“Much of the work being carried out by the Guards would normally fall under the remit of the National Park Service, which, despite struggling for staff before the Trump administration, has suffered at the hands of Trump’s sweeping cuts to the federal workforce.”
The Daily Pennsylvanian: Independence National Historical Park prepares for ‘scrutiny’ following Trump executive order
“The proximate cause is that the Trump administration is trying to eliminate any or most references to diversity and the more troubled parts of American history,’ Carpini said.”
Stories on the Trail
@AmericanRivers: 🚨 The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture announced it is seeking to roll back the Roadless Rule, the sole protection for 94,000 miles of rivers on public lands. The millions of Americans who depend on these forests for their clean water, along with anglers, hunters, and outdoor enthusiasts, should be appalled at this proposal and make their voices of opposition heard during this comment period.
@VoteVets: Trump’s takeover of DC has left National Guard Troops raking leaves, spreading mulch, and cleaning. Work the Park Service used to handle before budget cuts. Those who serve our country deserve better than being used as props in Trump’s power plays.
@AllInWithChris: Trump’s Border Patrol raided a Washington wildfire camp, forcing firefighters to pause their work for hours. “Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Stephen Miller and their ilk are going to burn the country to the ground if that’s what it takes, so they can rule over the ashes,” says Chris Hayes.
@ReichlinMelnick: 🚨Border Patrol arrested two firefighters who were actively fighting a wildfire at the time. When the other members of the crew asked for a chance to say goodbye, a Border Patrol agent told the crew member “you need to get the f*ck out of here. I’m going to make you leave.”
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.
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