The National Park Service has ordered park rangers to remove books and retail items at park gifts shops that run afoul of President Donald Trump’s edicts targeting diversity and equity across the federal government, according to a recent memo viewed by POLITICO’s E&E News.
NPS acting Director Jessica Bowron issued the order Nov. 25, labeling all “public-facing content” as up for review in the concessionaires, gift shops and bookstores within national parks. Those businesses are run by official partners of the NPS, often nonprofits that also raise money for parks.
Park rangers were given until Dec. 19 to carry out the reviews, which are already being criticized by park advocates as censorship of U.S. history.
“Banning history books from park stores and cracking down on park T-shirts and keychains is not what national park visitors want from their Park Service,” said Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association. “Going after gift shops is just one part of the administration’s deeply troubling pattern of silencing science and hiding history in our parks.”
