Salem, Oregon – U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat overseeing funding for the National Park Service, is leading a group of Senate Democrats in sharply criticizing the Trump Administration’s planned changes to national park access for 2026.
The lawmakers argue that the proposals, described by the administration as a “modernization,” would politicize public lands and undermine long-standing efforts to make national parks welcoming and accessible to all Americans.
Merkley and 11 other Democrats wrote to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to express their concerns about taking Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth off the list of days when parks are free to enter.
These days have been utilized in the past to get people to attend and remember important events in the history of civil rights in the United States. The revised plan would add President Trump’s birthday as a free day, which the senators argue sends a bad message about what is important to the country and makes historic fights for equality less important.
The senators also didn’t like the proposed alterations to the appearance of the annual America the Beautiful park passes. The new design would replace pictures of public lands with pictures of President Trump.
The politicians said that the pass program is aimed to make things easier to get and cheaper, not to promote the president. They also asked if the decision was lawful, pointing out that federal legislation says that park pass designs must be picked through a public competition. The letter says that this process may not have been followed, and the matter is already facing legal problems.
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The politicians talked about their concerns in more general terms, stressing the National Park Service’s nonpartisan mission. They emphasized that national parks should be places where people from all walks of life may come together, not places for political messages. They think that the proposed modifications won’t make it easier for people to visit and could instead turn national assets into tools for political agendas.
The senators wanted the Interior Department to explain why it made its decision and to make it clear whether or not regular programming linked to Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day would still happen.
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They also wanted to know if park visitors will be given different types of passes and how any backlash could affect income and visitation. Merkley, who has spoken out against what he calls authoritarian uses of public resources, said the revisions are an unnecessary and contentious shift that could hurt the common spirit of America’s public lands.
