Jonathan B Jarvis and Gary Machlis

Americans adore our park system. But the president appears ready to cut its budget and let it fail

Theodore Roosevelt, to whom Donald Trump has likened himself, used his executive power to double the size of the national park system and expand protection of American natural landscapes and historic landmarks. He strongly supported a merit-based civil service that now includes the 100-year-old National Park Service (NPS).

This small agency (its 2020 budget was one-fifteenth of one percent of the overall federal budget) has as its mission preserving “unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations”. Public surveys repeatedly show that Americans rank the National Park Service the highest among all federal agencies. Last year there were over 330 million visits to the parks, more than professional baseball, football, basketball and the Disney amusement parks combined.