For decades, the leaders of the Republican Party have asserted that the US federal government is “wasteful” and “inefficient.” They have claimed that their efforts to cut spending and jobs, sabotage the functioning of federal agencies, and give themselves massive tax cuts are in the interest of slashing “government waste.”
They are lying. And national parks are the proof.
In 2023, the US National Park Service, which oversees over 425 sites across the US and its territories, received $3.6 billion in discretionary funding from Congress–in other words, that is what American taxpayers paid to fund the national parks.
That same year, the NPS contributed $55.6 billion to the US economy–15 times the amount invested. For every dollar that taxpayers put into America’s national parks, $15 is put back into the US economy.
To put it in businessman terms (because that is what the president and his comrades claim to be), a good Return on Investment for a business is 10% or more. In 2023, the NPS had an ROI of over 1300%. That’s a 93% profit.
There are no privately owned businesses that make anywhere close to that level of ROI or profit, certainly not those businesses run by Trump or the other members of his party who claim they could manage the NPS better.
The NPS is not just economically efficient–it is wildly so.
And it’s not just money Americans are getting back from their parks. In 2023, the NPS employed around 20 thousand employees, while the existence of its parks helped create and support 415 thousand jobs across the US. The agency is an exemplar of turning money into more money and turning jobs into more jobs.
And we get so much more from national parks than these economic benefits. National parks provide opportunities for recreation, research, celebration, exploration, adventure, solace, education, wonder, and joy. They are homes for wildlife, plants, and natural wonders as well as spaces where our American history and culture are rooted in the ground.
And don’t just take my word for it–Americans across the political spectrum like their national parks and see that they are well-run. A 2022 study of US citizens by YouGov found that 75% of Americans held a favorable view of national parks and 71% thought national parks were well-managed.
Those Americans were correct. Despite over a decade of Republican-led budget and personnel cuts, the NPS has remained superbly economically efficient. In economic contributions and brand loyalty, the agency is putting the businessmen to shame.
So why are they trying to dismantle such an efficient and popular institution like our national parks? Exactly because they are so efficient and popular.
Our national parks have value. The land they occupy would make a pretty penny for rich men. The Republican leadership is trying to steal this land from the American people.
Real estate opportunities excite them; these men want to build casinos and resorts and condos and theme parks and expensive homes for themselves on public lands. They want to mine and drill and destroy the land that belongs to all Americans.
They are motivated by greed, not “efficiency.”
If Trump and his fellow rich men were honestly searching for government efficiency, they would have found it in the NPS. They would be holding the agency up as an example for its exceptional economic efficiency.
But they are of course not doing that. They are angry at national parks for being so efficient and for being so damn hard to turn our country against. That is why they attack them; that is why they are firing NPS employees in droves. They are trying to steal our most beloved national treasures in front of our eyes while claiming they are helping us.
But I believe people see through the lies. National parks are not for the taking. They are for all of us. They give and give, and ask so little in return. They are often called “America’s Best Idea.” And perhaps it is this great idea that will expose these charlatans as the greedy thieves they are.
America is not always good; we have not always done good things. But we have strived to be better and national parks are a clear sign of that striving. They are not perfect either; as a former employee of the NPS I have a laundry list of improvements I’d love to see the agency make.
But we can’t give up on good things because they are hard or have flaws. Our democracy has flaws; it should be improved, not thrown away.
America’s national parks are tasked with protecting and preserving land for this and future generations. The future part of that mission is up in the air at the moment. Will the NPS exist in the future?
I hope so. The fact that so many Americans still believe in the idea of national parks gives me hope that we also still have a shared set of values, that we still believe in the big ideas that gave this nation life and propel it toward improvement.
We love our parks. If we are going to survive this attempt at destroying our government and our democracy, let’s start there. We love our national parks. As Americans, let’s come together over our best idea.
What a great look at our beloved Park System! Calling out the lies trying to give the few the riches of our National Park is indeed necessary!
Thank you so much for reading and for supporting our national parks! The more people who see their lies and call them out, the better our chances of saving our parks.