National park advocates are planning a nationwide day of action against President Donald Trump’s parks agenda, calling on his administration to provide greater protection and investment for the federal workforce that maintains the country’s parks. The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) said supporters will gather online and at events across the country on August 25 to “speak out for America’s national parks.” The group is asking the public to sign a petition urging Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to protect parks and their employees. NPCA says the National Park Service has lost a quarter of its permanent workforce over the past year, including thousands of rangers, maintenance workers and educators.
Its petition warns that staffing shortages have forced parks to reduce educational programs, weakened scientific and conservation work and could affect emergency responses and visitor safety. It asks Trump and Burgum to make a “real investment” in park staff and protect the people responsible for caring for the sites. Although August 25 is the campaign’s focal point, NPCA has listed about 30 activities across 20 states and Washington, D.C., running from August 22 through September 1.
Newsweek has mapped them out below. The planned action comes amid a wider dispute over Trump’s approach to public lands. Critics have objected to staffing losses, higher fees for foreign visitors, the administration’s campaign to cut environmental regulations and its direction that federal historic sites remove material it considers disparaging or ideologically divisive.
The administration argues that its policies will expand recreational access, generate money for park infrastructure and balance conservation with economic growth. Burgum has said Trump is protecting the nation’s landscapes while ending “burdensome red tape,” and Interior officials have pointed to continuing investments under the Great American Outdoors Act, which Trump signed during his first term, as evidence of his conservation record. A Department of Interior spokesperson told Newsweek that over 99 percent of donations during the 2024 election cycle from NPCA employees were distributed to Democratic political campaigns.
The spokesperson criticized the group for marketing itself as nonpartisan while funding progressive candidates and giving money to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's campaign. "Further, if you look at the accounts they are following on X you will see they follow AOC, Center for American Progress, Sunrise Movement, Indivisible (the group who hosted the No Kings rallies), to name a few that show the political leanings of this group. Any insinuation that the NPCA is non-partisan is farcical," the spokesperson said.
Newsweek has contacted the White House, Burgum’s office and the NPCA, via email, for comment. The Day of Action campaign is mainly focused on the loss of National Park Service employees and what organizers describe as inadequate federal support for those who remain. The NPCA says the shortages have forced parks to reduce educational programs, pushed out specialists responsible for research and conservation and raised concerns about whether employees can respond adequately to emergencies.
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