Bennet, Merkley, Colleagues Denounce Trump Administration’s Polarizing Changes to National Park Service Access for 2026

Jan 16, 2026| Press Releases

Denver -U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) joined U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and 10 of their Senate colleagues to express concern over the Trump Administration's so-called "modernization" plans for national park access, including several alarming partisan, polarizing initiatives that undermine the spirit of ensuring our public lands are accessible to all.

"Among the announced changes is a decision to remove Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of fee-free days-days intended for celebration and increased affordability and access to our National Parks," wrote Bennet, Merkley, and the senators. "At the same time, President Trump's birthday will be added as a fee-free day. Not only does this send the deeply troubling message that these days of profound historical importance in the struggle for civil rights are not worth honoring, but it also further promotes the President's agenda of self-celebration."

One of President Trump's other "modernization" plans involves redesigning the America the Beautiful annual passes, a program originally intended to make visiting national parks more affordable and accessible. In past years, these passes were decorated with images of our nation's public lands, but now they show photos of President Trump. The images on these cards are legally required to be selected annually through a public competition, as outlined in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. President Trump's decision to put self-aggrandizement before the law is illegal and misaligned with our nation's values.

"National parks are national treasures and exist as spaces where people, regardless of background and political affiliation, can come together and enjoy the outdoors. These changes do nothing to modernize how people visit national parks and are instead a thinly veiled attempt to use our nation's most iconic landscapes to further the self-promotion of President Trump and disparage our shared history," concluded the senators.

Bennet has long been a fierce champion for Colorado's national parks. In 2024, Bennet, Hickenlooper and Neguse welcomed the establishment of Colorado's Camp Amache as America's Newest unit of the National Park Service, after years of working to protect it for future generations. Bennet has also passed legislation to expand Rocky Mountain National Park and Yucca House National Monument.

In addition to parks, Bennet has also introduced legislation to protect over 1.2 million acres of public lands in Colorado. In 2025, Bennet joined Colorado U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper and Congressman Jeff Hurd to introduce the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection (GORP) Act to protect over 730,000 acres of public land in the greater Gunnison Basin. Bennet and Hickenlooper also reintroduced the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act to protect over 68,000 acres in the southern portion of the Dolores River basin. Additionally, Bennet, Neguse, and Hickenlooper reintroduced the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act to protect 420,000 acres of public land in Colorado, establish new wilderness areas, and safeguard existing outdoor recreation opportunities to boost the economy for future generations.

In addition to Bennet and Merkley, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) signed the letter.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear Secretary Burgum:

We write to express our deep concern over the National Park Service's "modernization of national park access" in 2026, announced on November 25, 2025. This so-called modernization includes several alarming partisan, polarizing initiatives that have no place within our nation's public lands, which are meant for all people to visit and enjoy.

Among the announced changes is a decision to remove Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of fee-free days-days intended for celebration and increased affordability and access to our National Parks. At the same time, President Trump's birthday will be added as a fee-free day. Not only does this send the deeply troubling message that these days of profound historical importance in the struggle for civil rights are not worth honoring, but it also further promotes the President's agenda of self-celebration.

We as a country have sought to preserve and tell the story of our history, including through the National Park Service, which operates 20 national park treasures dedicated to the history of the civil rights movement and partners with dozens of other affiliated properties connected to the National Park Service through the African American Civil Rights Network.

This so-called modernization also includes the redesign of the America the Beautiful annual passes by replacing images depicting our nation's public lands with photos of President Trump. This change turns the America the Beautiful pass-a program intended to promote access and affordability-into a vehicle for more self-celebration and self-aggrandizing. While the images on these passes are typically replaced every year, as outlined in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the selection process is required by law to occur through a public competition, not a unilateral administrative decision. As such, the legality of this change is questionable at best and already the subject of litigation.

National parks are national treasures and exist as spaces where people, regardless of background and political affiliation, can come together and enjoy the outdoors. These changes do nothing to modernize how people visit national parks and are instead a thinly veiled attempt to use our nation's most iconic landscapes to further the self-promotion of President Trump and disparage our shared history. In light of these alarming changes, we request that you provide full and complete responses to the following questions no later than January 30, 2026:

1. Provide the Agency's reasoning for removing both Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday and Juneteenth as fee-free days.
2. The National Park Service has traditionally celebrated both Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday and Juneteenth through ranger-led programs, interpretive talks, performances, community gatherings, and volunteer service opportunities. Will the National Park Service continue each of these traditions, and if not, what specifically will the National Park Service cancel in 2026?
3. Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S. Code § 6804(a)(2)) requires an annual, open public competition for determining the recreation park pass designs and should be "used as a means to educate the American people about Federal recreational lands and waters." In practice, this competition has been held by the National Park Foundation through their Share the Experience Photo Contest. While a competition was held for the 2026 passes, the winning image was relegated to the new, more expensive Nonresident Annual Pass, rather than the customary general Annual Pass. Please describe what process was used to determine the 2026 recreation pass designs, including those specifically for the general Resident Annual Pass depicting George Washington and President Trump and the Military Annual Pass depicting President Trump.

• By what date does the administration plan to remedy this violation of federal law?

1. Will U.S. residents purchasing an America the Beautiful Annual Pass be able to choose an alternative design that does not depict President Trump?

• Assuming some people will decide to forgo purchasing an Annual Pass if an alternative is unavailable, has the administration considered how this may reduce revenue and park visitation?

###