08/15/2026
As a fan of Dr. Heather Cox Richardson, the American historian who often compares history with current events, I found this information:
"On Sunday, reporter Scott MacFarlane of MacFarlane News reported that more than $323 million has been funneled from the National Park Service to Trump’s vanity projects on the White House grounds, even as Trump’s own Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, estimates a $30 billion backlog of deferred maintenance in the parks themselves. MacFarlane notes that the number is a nearly 5,000% (not a typo) increase over the $7.5 million spent at the White House in 2024, the last year of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Another $100 million has been allotted to the National Mall this year. The $423 million allocated this year for projects at the White House and the National Mall is more money than had been allotted to Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Mammoth Cave, Zion, and Joshua Tree National Parks, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and the Statue of Liberty complex combined.
Outdoor writer Wes Siler of Wes Siler’s Newsletter reported on Monday that House Democrats Jared Huffman of California, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, and Maxine Dexter of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, are launching an investigation into possible insider trading over Trump’s 90% reduction of the national monuments Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante.”
If you love our National Parks, Monuments, Battlefields, Seashores, Preserves, Wildlife Refuges, and Historic Sites, please, you must speak up before they are destroyed due to lack of care and oversight, or taken over by private companies (often owned by foreign countries). Please call, email, or write to your congresspersons now!
Below are some of the National Parks and Monuments I’ve visited here in the West. There are more all over the United States, and they need us now. These are OUR public lands, and it is our responsibility to protect them for ourselves and for future generations.
BTW- do you have some favorites? Let me know in the comments, please!
