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'Catastrophic': Trump is now going after 'the best idea we ever had'
President Donald Trump’s push to slash federal spending could have devastating consequences for America’s national parks, with proposed budget cuts threatening to gut the Park Service and dismantle protections for the country’s most treasured landscapes, the New York Times reported Sunday.
In 2023, the latest year with available data, an estimated 325 million people visited national parks, monuments, and historic sites, spending around $26.4 billion in nearby communities. That number grew even higher the following year, with park visits reaching an all-time record of nearly 332 million, per the article by Ted Kerasote, a nature and wildlife writer.
Theresa Pierno, president of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), an advocacy organization, cautioned last month that the park system "would be completely decimated" if the proposed cuts go into effect.
"Even before he took office, the Park Service was running lean, on a slim operating budget of about $3 billion. But since January, an estimated 13 percent of its staff has departed through pressured buyouts, early retirements and deferred resignations," the Times piece noted.
In 2023, the latest year with available data, an estimated 325 million people visited national parks, monuments, and historic sites, spending around $26.4 billion in nearby communities. That number grew even higher the following year, with park visits reaching an all-time record of nearly 332 million, per the article by Ted Kerasote, a nature and wildlife writer.
Theresa Pierno, president of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), an advocacy organization, cautioned last month that the park system "would be completely decimated" if the proposed cuts go into effect.
"Even before he took office, the Park Service was running lean, on a slim operating budget of about $3 billion. But since January, an estimated 13 percent of its staff has departed through pressured buyouts, early retirements and deferred resignations," the Times piece noted.
https://www.alternet.org/trump-national-parks/
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