Trump administration is said to target park service grants

The Trump administration has earmarked dozens of National Park Service grants for elimination, including several that aim to protect public lands from the effects of climate change, according to an internal agency document detailing the plans.

A spreadsheet of grants likely to be canceled claims the cuts could save $26 million by canceling grants to universities, state historic preservation offices, tribes and youth corps.

It was developed by Conor Fennessy, a staff member in Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan.

At the National Park Service, the DOGE plan proposes eliminating Scientists in Parks, a popular program that places students and early-career scientists at natural and historic landmarks to help protect ecosystems.

Also on the chopping block: a $67,000 climate resiliency study on lands surrounding the Golden Gate National Recreation Area; a $223,000 study of the impact of climate change on Alaska’s glaciers; watershed protection efforts across the country; and a $220,000 project to protect the Louisiana State University “campus mounds,” two dome-shaped structures created by Native Americans thousands of years ago.

The reason given for shuttering those programs, according to the document, is “Climate change/Sustainability,” indicating they were singled out because they touch on an issue the Trump administration has opposed addressing.

Others are listed for potential elimination because of “DEI,” or diversity, equity and inclusion, which the Trump administration also opposes.

Grants for termination listed as DEI include funding $462,000 worth of improvements at a park in Washington state to better accommodate children with disabilities, and $198,000 to the Santa Monica Mountains Fund, a nonprofit group, to mentor college students.

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