OPINION: Parks and enchantment under attack

What enchants about the Land of Enchantment are its natural lands, cultures and history. Many salient elements of this heritage receive protection through the National Park System. Now, however, as the Trump administration continues its destructive overhaul of public institutions including the U.S. Agency for International Development, Environmental Protection Agency, Public Broadcasting Service and even the Library of Congress, it appears that the national parks are headed for the chopping block.

More than small-government ideology, more than unfounded notions of government efficiency, the motive behind this is money. Republicans need to show that the tax cuts for the wealthy that are the centerpiece of the absurdly named “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will not swell the federal deficit. They are failing in this attempt. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that this legislative “abomination” — to quote Elon Musk — will increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion.

If the Senate passes the bill in its present form, all land management agencies will face savage downsizing, and the case of the National Park Service tells the story. The Trump administration’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 would cut the Park Service’s operational budget by 31%, a nearly $1 billion reduction. Jobs would be slashed and the system of protected lands and sites would have to shrink radically.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee that approximately 400 national park units were being evaluated for transfer to state or local governments. If that momentarily sounds reasonable, bear in mind that no money would accompany them. Such transfers would be “unfunded mandates,” significantly burdening the recipient governments. Bear in mind, too, that most of the transfers should be deemed unconstitutional without congressional approval, but given the ideological tilt of today’s Supreme Court, the outcomes of inevitable legal challenges are anybody’s guess.

Burgum assured the committee that the “crown jewels” of the park system would remain untouched. By this he meant the system’s 63 officially designated “National Parks,” such as Yellowstone and Yosemite. Excluding the “jewels” leaves the fate of 370 units in doubt. Of New Mexico’s 15 Park Service holdings, only two are “capital-P” national parks — Carlsbad and White Sands. The rest bear different designations. Bandelier, Petroglyph and seven others are national monuments. Chaco Canyon and Pecos are national historical parks. A third historical park commemorates the Manhattan Project. The much-loved Valles Caldera National Preserve, which will celebrate its 25th year next month, stands alone.

There exists no reasonable scenario under which our state government might absorb the cost of managing these special places. Still less does it make sense to do so in order to enable tax cuts that would constitute what some say would be the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history. The ravages under consideration would also substantially damage New Mexico’s $11.6 billion tourism economy.

If the Trump administration’s intention to line the pockets of the wealthy with money from our parks depresses you, take a day or an afternoon and go re-inspire yourself in one of those splendid places. Walk among the great trees and the canyons. Absorb the grand vistas. Let the pure air and the emanations of centuries of history renew your resolve. Then come back to oppose this theft of our heritage at every level and in every way. Admittedly, the paths for resistance are few, but we must find them. Passivity is not an option.