Interior Secretary's Plan to Cut Public Land Jobs and Erase History

If you've spent time hiking in the rugged beauty of the Uncompahgre Plateau or exploring the scenic trails of the Grand Mesa, you know how precious our public lands are to Western Slope residents. But the latest budget proposal from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum should have you worried. For the second year in a row, Burgum is pushing to cut nearly 3,000 positions from the National Park Service, plus thousands more from other agencies that manage our public lands. That's a direct threat to the people and resources that keep our favorite outdoor spots safe and accessible.

Congress rejected similar cuts last year, but Burgum is trying again, hoping to wear down opposition and further weaken the management and protection of our public land. This isn't just a numbers game – it's about the real people who do the hard work of maintaining trails, fighting wildfires, and preserving the natural and cultural heritage of our region. We're talking about rangers, biologists, historians, and maintenance workers who have dedicated their careers to caring for our public lands. Since January 2025, about a quarter of National Park Service employees have left their jobs, pushed out by terminations and early retirement offers. That's a brain drain and a loss of institutional knowledge that will be hard to replace.

What's even more disturbing is the administration's policy of erasing history itself. Under Burgum's orders, the National Park Service has removed or flagged for removal hundreds of interpretive signs and exhibits across the country. This isn't just about rewriting history books – it's about suppressing the stories and experiences of marginalized communities. At iconic sites like the Grand Canyon and Independence National Historical Park, signs acknowledging the displacement of Native American tribes and the history of enslaved people have been taken down. Climate science has been banished from Glacier National Park, and exhibits on labor rights, women's suffrage, and Japanese American internment have been deemed "unpatriotic." This is a blatant attempt to distort our collective memory and ignore the complexities of American history.

What This Means for You

So what does this mean for Western Slope residents? For starters, it means that our public lands will be less protected and less accessible. With fewer rangers and maintenance workers, trails will be more likely to be closed, and search and rescue operations will be slower to respond. It also means that the rich cultural heritage of our region will be lost or distorted, as interpretive signs and exhibits are removed or rewritten to fit a narrow ideological agenda. If you care about preserving the natural beauty and historical significance of our public lands, you should be paying close attention to this budget proposal. You can start by contacting your representatives in Congress and expressing your opposition to these cuts. You can also support local organizations that work to protect and preserve our public lands, such as the Colorado Wilderness Alliance or the Western Slope Conservation Center. Every voice counts, and every action matters in this fight to defend our public lands.