The Interior Department has blocked more than 130 projects in national parks worth at least $25 million, according to internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The funding had already been secured, generally through congressional appropriations, existing federal programs or competitive internal processes, and the agreements were awaiting Interior review as a final step before they could be signed. They were disapproved in August and would have paid outside partners for work in the fiscal year that begins October 1.
The Park Service often partners with outside organizations for specialized work, which lets it get the work done without hiring additional full-time federal employees. The Post noted the park system has lost roughly a quarter of its staff since Trump took office. The blocked projects covered work such as fire preparedness in California, protection of prehistoric mounds in Iowa and sled dog care in Alaska, at parks including Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. Joshua Tree was hit hardest, with at least 10 agreements blocked that would have hired at least 16 people, helped restore burned areas and removed rodents that carry hantavirus from historic buildings. “If this work is not completed, the park will be unable to fight wildfire. Fires will be larger and fire suppression will be more expensive,” one document read.
Interior confirmed the action. Spokesperson Aubrie Spady said the department “disapproved a number of partnership agreements with groups actively working against the best interests of the American people and the priorities of this administration,” and that the decision ensures “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 did not identify the agreements or the partners, and did not answer questions about where the money would go.
The largest affected partner, the nonprofit Great Basin Institute, had more than 70 agreements worth at least $12.7 million blocked. Its chief executive, Peter Woodruff, said Interior did not notify the institute directly; park staff told it the reason involved funding priorities and compliance with secretarial and presidential orders. “GBI's standards remain staunchly nonpartisan through six presidential administrations,” he wrote to Interior, adding that the group “has no advocacy directives and does not engage in or support any actions counter to Executive Orders or Secretarial Orders.” Four Park Service staffers said the only explanation they received was the notation “Disapproved by DOI.”
For scale, Interior approved more than 700 other agreements this year through early August, and projects under $50,000 do not require its review.