“Leave No Trace” – Except My Face: Politicization of the National Park Service

by Josh Smith, Associate Member, University of Cincinnati Law Review Vol. 94

I. Introduction

In the first year of his second term, President Donald Trump took an unprecedented step that challenged long-standing presidential norms by becoming the first U.S. president to place his own image on the annual America the Beautiful national park passes, a symbol traditionally meant to represent the nation’s shared public lands rather than any individual leader.¹ Previously, these passes have served as indicators of America’s iconic wildlife featuring images of bald eagles, bison, and in 2025, a roseate spoonbill found at Everglades National Park.² The new design has drawn criticism from those who tend to buy these annual passes.³ As a result of rising tensions, parkgoers have defaced their passes by placing stickers overtop the president’s image.⁴ The National Park Service (“NPS”) released a new policy in retaliation stating that they will no longer admit passes that have been “defaced or altered.”⁵ In response to this unprecedented action, a lawsuit has been filed against the United States Department of the Interior (“DOI”) and the United States Department of Agriculture (“DOA”) by the Center for Biological Diversity (“CFBD”).⁶ The lawsuit asserts that the Trump administration violated the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004 (“FLREA”).⁷

Part II provides background on the creation of the National Park Service, focusing on the National Park Service Organic Act (“NPSOA”) and its dual mandate of conservation and public enjoyment. It then examines the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (“FLREA”), with particular emphasis on its authorization of recreation fees and the creation of the America the Beautiful Pass. Part III analyzes the implications of national parks becoming a political symbol under the FLREA by discussing statutes and relevant case law to evaluate whether contemporary debates reflect legal ambiguity or broader ideological conflict over the purpose of public lands. Finally, Part IV concludes by offering recommendations for clarifying congressional intent and safeguarding national parks from partisan politics.

II. Background

A. Formation of the National Park Service

The National Park Service (“NPS”) was created on August 25, 1916, by President Woodrow Wilson through the implementation of the NPSOA.⁸ Despite the NPSOA’s establishment in 1916, the first national park in the United States was created years before in 1872 when President Ulysses S. Grant formed Yellowstone National Park.⁹ The creation of the NPS served two main goals: conserving the scenery and wildlife within the parks and providing for their enjoyment while leaving them unimpaired for future generations.¹⁰ The NPS was formed in response to concerns from preservationists who advocated for a dedicated agency to oversee these natural landscapes.¹¹

Despite national parks existing prior to the creation of the NPSOA, this Act formally created the NPS, the first centralized government agency created for the purpose of sustaining these ecosystems.¹² The NPSOA put conservation into the hands of the Secretary of the DOI.¹³ Under the NPSOA, the Secretary of the DOI has “the supervision, management, and control of the several national parks and national monuments.”¹⁴ Further, the NPSOA gives the officers of the Service broad authority to “make and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary or proper for the use and management of said parks.”¹⁵ Finally, the NPSOA, while it gives the DOI majority authority, it allows the Secretary of the DOA cooperative powers to work with the NPS if requested by the DOI.¹⁶ As such, the NPSOA outlined the creation of a NPS governed and controlled by the DOI.¹⁷

B. Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004

The FLREA was enacted to streamline and modernize fee collection across federal lands managed by multiple agencies, including the NPS, U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.¹⁸ Prior to the FLREA, recreation fees were authorized under a patchwork of statutes that varied by agency and site, creating administrative complexity and inefficiencies in funding visitor services and maintaining recreational infrastructure.¹⁹

The FLREA consolidated fee authority and established a standardized framework for recreation fees, including day-use fees, amenity fees, and special passes.²⁰ Central to this Act was the creation of the America the Beautiful pass which allows access to most federal recreation sites for an annual fee.²¹ However, section 6801(a) of the Act holds that the “Secretaries [of Interior and Agriculture] shall hold an annual competition to select the image to be used on the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass for a year.”²² The competition serves an educational purpose by encouraging members of the public to participate and submit their photos.²³ Under section 6801(a)(9), the Act further prohibits the Secretary of the DOI from “establishing any national recreation pass” not specifically mentioned in the Act.²⁴ Taken together, the FLREA lays out a codified comprehensive framework for recreation fee collection across federal lands and authorizes the DOI to impose specific entrance-related policies.²⁵

C. Politicization of Public Lands

On December 10, 2025, the CFBD filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for violating the FLREA.²⁶ The FLREA requires the America the Beautiful annual pass to feature the winning photo of the National Parks Foundation’s public lands photo contest.²⁷ For the 2026 pass, the image depicted Montana’s Glacier National Park.²⁸ Instead of accepting this image, Secretary Burgum of President Trump’s DOI created a new design featuring a “bold, patriotic design” that emphasizes “America First” values by placing a headshot of President Trump and President George Washington on the passes.²⁹ In addition to the “America First” NPS policies, the DOI also implemented a new entry fee policy where U.S. residents will continue to enjoy affordable pricing while nonresidents will pay a higher rate to help support the care and maintenance of America’s parks.³⁰ The FLREA also held that certain holidays would be fee-free for the public to enjoy these parks.³¹ However, the Trump administration has now changed some of these holidays, moving the fee-free Martin Luther King Jr. Day to June 14, which coincides with Flag Day and Trump’s birthday.³²

As a result of these changes, parkgoers have become extremely upset.³³ The Executive Director for the CFBD stated:

It’s disgusting of Trump to politicize America’s most sacred refuge by pasting his face over the national parks in the same way he slaps his corporate name on buildings, restaurants, and golf courses. The national parks are not a personal branding opportunity. They’re the pride and joy of the American people.³⁴

Parkgoers have begun to peacefully protest these changes by placing stickers overtop the image of the president on their passes.³⁵ As a result, the NPS has emphasized their policy that passes may be void if “defaced or altered.”³⁶ Secretary Burgum said that this is no new policy; rather, it is meant to help provide clarification to visitors and help staff avoid confusion.³⁷

III. Discussion

A. Department of the Interior

The DOI is the principal federal agency overseeing national parks through the NPS.³⁸ The DOI played a central role in implementing the Trump administration’s “America First” initiative, including the issuance of President Trump’s image on the America the Beautiful pass.³⁹ By facilitating this decision, the DOI acted as the conduit through which executive priorities were translated into tangible actions affecting federally managed lands.⁴⁰ Traditionally, the DOI’s mandate has been to manage public lands according to statutory directives, balancing preservation, access, and public enjoyment.⁴¹ The explicit association of a living president with a public-use pass, however, represents a departure from the agency’s conventional, neutral role, embedding a political message within a historically non-partisan federal program.⁴²

The question of political overreach arises in both legal and value-based terms. Legally, the DOI operates under delegated authority from Congress and the executive branch, with discretion to administer programs like the America the Beautiful pass.⁴³ Yet the use of that authority to promote a specific political figure stretches beyond traditional administrative functions and may be seen as blurring the line between policy implementation and political advocacy.⁴⁴ While no statute explicitly forbids featuring a sitting president on the pass, the action raises concerns under the public trust doctrine: federal agencies are expected to act in the interest of all citizens, not to serve partisan objectives, particularly within areas for natural resources.⁴⁵ Additionally, Congress created the Hatch Act, which also exists to keep politics out of basic government functions, including areas for protecting public lands.⁴⁶ Lincoln Larson, a professor at North Carolina State University Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management believes that “public lands and conservation [are] in that category.”⁴⁷

Normatively, this instance can be framed as an example of symbolic overreach, where an agency, even while technically acting within delegated authority, engages in actions that compromise the perception of neutrality and stewardship.⁴⁸ The DOI’s involvement illustrates how federal agencies can be implicated in politicization through operational decisions that appear procedural or administrative but carry profound symbolic weight.⁴⁹ In this sense, the Trump America the Beautiful pass raises questions about the limits of agency discretion and the safeguards necessary to prevent federal lands from becoming vehicles for political messaging.⁵⁰

B. Checks and Balances

The DOI’s discretion is not unfettered; the Constitution and statutory frameworks impose multiple layers of oversight to prevent politicization of public resources.⁵¹ While the idea of checks and balances is not laid out verbatim in the United States Constitution, it has been implied for centuries through the division of the federal government into three branches.⁵² Congress has the authority to exercise legislative control by setting statutory parameters, allocating funding, and, where necessary, passing laws that limit or direct DOI actions.⁵³ Judicial review serves as a second critical check.⁵⁴ Courts may intervene if the DOI’s actions exceed statutory authority, violate procedural requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act, or infringe upon other constitutional protections.⁵⁵ Litigation has frequently emerged when administrations attempt to modify or repurpose public lands in ways perceived as politically motivated.⁵⁶ Finally, executive accountability mechanisms, including presidential directives and internal DOI oversight, also interact with these checks and balances, creating a dynamic tension between administrative discretion and institutional restraint.⁵⁷ Together, these constitutional and statutory safeguards ensure that policy decisions by the DOI cannot unilaterally politicize national parks or undermine the public interest in federal lands.⁵⁸

C. Application of the Law

The Trump-branded America the Beautiful passes demonstrate how legal principles governing DOI authority, statutory mandates, and institutional checks converge to constrain agency discretion and prevent politicization of public programs. The FLREA governs the fee structure and administration of passes, including the America the Beautiful program, and explicitly directs that fees collected are to support recreational and conservation purposes.⁵⁹ Any alteration of pass design or promotion that serves partisan interests risks conflicting with the statutory purpose of the program, which is to provide equitable access to national parks and federal lands for all Americans, rather than to promote individual political figures.⁶⁰

Additionally, these new passes fall within the broader constitutional system of checks and balances.⁶¹ Congress exercises oversight authority by defining permissible uses of FLREA funds, setting program requirements, and holding hearings to ensure the DOI adheres to the law.⁶² Judicial review further limits agency discretion, providing a mechanism to challenge administrative actions that exceed statutory authority or fail to serve the public interest.⁶³ These checks reinforce the principle that federal programs cannot be used for partisan purposes, even by the executive branch.⁶⁴

Moreover, the NPSOA, which first established the National Park Service, emphasizes that the purpose of national parks is to conserve scenery, natural and historic objects, and wildlife, while leaving them “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”⁶⁵ Administrative actions that alter the symbolic or operational aspects of public land programs in ways that favor political interests risk undermining this core mission.⁶⁶ The FLREA and a system of checks and balances collectively ensures that the DOI manages the America the Beautiful passes and the NPS in a manner consistent with the NPSOA’s conservation and public-access mandate.⁶⁷ Even seemingly minor administrative choices, such as design or promotion of passes, carry legal and symbolic significance.⁶⁸ These legal remedies function to preserve the integrity of national park administration and ensure that federal lands remain a public resource, free from partisan appropriation.⁶⁹

The actions taken by the Trump administration constitute a blatant overreach of executive authority rather than a lawful exercise of administrative discretion.⁷⁰ The FLREA specifically requires an annual public photo contest to select artwork for the annual pass.⁷¹ Critics such as the CFBD argue that by substituting a presidential portrait and creating new pass categories, this is an exact violation of these explicit statutory mandates.⁷² When an agency disregards procedures clearly prescribed by Congress, such action exceeds delegated authority and violates established principles of administrative law.⁷³ Agencies that bypass legislatively established processes risk undermining the legal framework that Congress designed to ensure neutral public administration and accountability rather than partisan expression.⁷⁴

The NPSOA’s mandate that national parks be managed and remain “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations” continues to guide interpretations of permissible administrative actions and underscores the distinction between public land conservation and political promotion.⁷⁵ Ultimately, the NPSOA’s directive ensures that national parks remain protected from partisan influence, reinforcing that public lands serve broad civic and environmental purposes rather than to serve individual political agendas.⁷⁶ Under the separation-of-powers doctrine, executive agencies must operate within the bounds set by Congress, and courts routinely invalidate agency actions that conflict with statutory directives.⁷⁷ When coupled with statutory frameworks like FLREA and the system of congressional and judicial oversight, these legal safeguards preserve the integrity and impartial administration of America’s national parks for present and future generations.⁷⁸

IV. Conclusion

In evaluating the America the Beautiful pass controversy through the lens of statutory authority and constitutional oversight, it is evident that checks and balances remain essential to prevent the politicization of federal programs.⁷⁹ Moreover, judicial enforcement of these statutory limits would reaffirm Congress’s exclusive power to define the scope of federal benefits programs and ensure that executive agencies adhere to the mandates established by law.⁸⁰ Given the clear statutory language and governing administrative law principles, the lawsuit is likely to be resolved in favor of the CFBD because the challenged actions are clearly inconsistent with the controlling statutes and overstep the executive branch’s authority.⁸¹

Cover Photo by Judy Beth Morris on Unsplash

Joshua Smith

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