The Trump administration has blocked more than 130 projects at U.S. national parks, putting at least $25 million in funding on hold, The Washington Post reported.
The money had already been secured through congressional appropriations and federal programs but needed Interior’s approval before it could be released. Interior spokesperson Aubrie Spady confirmed the department had rejected the agreements. Interior approval was needed before the money could be released.
The blocked projects include wildfire work, habitat protection, historic preservation and care for sled dogs at Denali National Park and Preserve. The National Park Service often uses outside groups when parks need extra workers or specialized skills. Joshua Tree National Park in California appears to be among the parks hit hardest. The internal documents warned that losing the work could make fighting wildfires harder and more expensive. Fires will be larger and fire suppression will be more expensive. Other rejected work included protecting prehistoric Native American mounds in Iowa from falling trees and preserving an endangered snake species in California. At Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, one agreement would have supported care for the park’s sled dogs. The Great Basin Institute, a conservation nonprofit, was affected as well. The decision follows President Donald Trump ’s July orders that reduced the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah. Patagonia and a coalition of Native American and environmental groups challenged those reductions in court.
The agreements were for projects in the next fiscal year, which starts October 1. At least 10 agreements were blocked there, covering wildfire preparation, restoration of areas damaged by fires and removal of rodents that can carry hantavirus from buildings. More than 70 of its agreements, worth $12 million, were reportedly rejected.
The Interior Department rejected partnership agreements for work at Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Joshua Tree and other parks last month, according to internal documents reviewed by the newspaper. She said the groups involved were “actively working against the best interests of the American people and the priorities of this administration. “This decisive action is ensuring that these taxpayer dollars are being used in alignment with the administration’s objectives to make life more affordable for Americans, unleash domestic energy production and expand access to our public lands,” she said. They said, “If this work is not completed, the park will be unable to fight wildfire. Its CEO, Peter Woodruff, told The Washington Post that the organization was not informed by Interior about the decision and did not know why its agreements had been blocked.
