THE GUARDIAN • November 14, 2025
Americans should “raise hell” to protect US national parks through the “nightmare” of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to Jonathan Jarvis, who led the NPS from 2009 to 2017. He claimed the agency was now in the hands of a “bunch of ideologues” who would have no issue watching it “go down in flames.” Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, was warned by more than 40 former national park superintendents in September that parks were “in jeopardy” during a shutdown. Over the past month, hundreds of NPS veterans have watched aghast as most of the agency’s workers were furloughed. A fire at Joshua Tree national park burned 72 acres. Yosemite faced a wave of illegal Base jumping. Yellowstone grappled with bear jams. Vandalism included graffiti in Arches national park. Trash accumulated. Now that the shutdown is over, after 42 days, Jarvis said service staff will “bust their butts” to clean up US national parks. But he remains concerned about the lasting impacts. The agency remains without a permanent director, and did not have one for the duration of Trump’s first term.