LOCALIZE IT: Maintenance projects at US national parks sidelined by White House priorities

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — NEWS DIRECTORS/EDITORS:

Maintenance projects approved this year at national park sites across the country could go undone after being deemed “low priority” by officials in Washington, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Meanwhile work on a separate list of White House priorities has moved forward such as the repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool , the documents show.

More than 1,500 National Park Service projects were on the low priority list in July, according to documents obtained by AP, and three officials from the park service and Interior Department who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The shelved projects, many already approved, span more than 200 sites and range from roof repairs at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, to computer upgrades at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and bulk purchases of toilet paper and garbage bags at Yellowstone National Park.

If the work’s not done, it will worsen a maintenance backlog at national parks that doubled over the last decade to more than $24 billion even as visitor numbers surged.

Congress has pushed to address the backlog of work at national parks during both Democratic and Republican presidencies. The bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act from Trump’s first term included $6.5 billion for overdue maintenance and repairs over five years. That ended in 2025, but pending legislation would extend it. ___

READ AP’S LATEST COVERAGE

National park maintenance work sidelined as Trump’s Freedom 250 takes precedence

DATA ON PARK MAINTENANCE NEEDS BY STATE

This National Park Service site contains details on deferred maintenance projects at national parks, monuments and other agency sites across the US. The list is searchable and you can also sort by state.

The Greenbook is a budget proposal document that includes details of capital projects underway at parks. Note that each project has a “consequences of failure to act” that gives some context for why the project is needed.

RESOURCES FOR FINDING SOURCES

— Call local groups that have partnerships with parks, like the Grand Canyon Conservancy or Friends of Acadia National Park . Many are part of the National Parks Friends Alliance .

— Advocacy organizations can give details why maintenance needs are important and how the backlog has grown. They groups can also help you find sources and may be able to put you in touch with current or former employees:

— National Parks Conservation Association

— Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks

— Resistance Rangers

CONSIDER THESE REPORTING THREADS

— This page gives a national, state and park-by-park economic breakdown of visitor spending and other economic data.

— National parks get consistent bipartisan support. See how your lawmakers voted here on the Great American Outdoors Act. You can also review the latest actions by your state’s congressional delegates on the president’s budget for parks, which are part of the Interior Department. Ask if they agree with the budget cuts to Interior and the prioritization of projects in Washington D.C.

— Use this interactive report from Headwaters Economics to look at visitors, spending, jobs at parks in order to put your story in a broader context. On the same page you can compare the impacts of different parks within the same state. The latest data is for 2024.

— Many parks are important to local economies. Ask local business owners such as hotels and restaurants how the condition of the park closest to them impacts tourism.

READ PREVIOUS AP COVERAGE:

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