Groups sue over Trump effort to ‘erase’ history, science in national parks

A coalition of scientific, preservation and historical groups on Tuesday sued the Trump administration, arguing that the removal of information about civil rights, climate change and other topics at multiple national parks amounts to illegal censorship.

“Censoring science and erasing America’s history at national parks are direct threats to everything these amazing places, and our country, stand for,” Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources for the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement announcing the filing. “As Americans, we deserve national parks that tell stories of our country’s triumphs and heartbreaks alike. We can handle the truth.”

Tuesday’s lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Massachusetts, argues that in its haste to carry out President Donald Trump’s order, the Interior Department has ignored well-established principles and legal requirements when seeking to overhaul information presented at national parks.

“The orders and resulting implementation actions ignore Congress’s mandate for how the parks must be managed; erase the history of countless people and communities from public spaces; limit the availability of scientific information relevant to ensuring the long-term preservation of the parks themselves; and impair the mission of the National Park Service to preserve the parks ‘for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations,’” the legal complaint states.

Asked for comment on the lawsuit, the Interior Department on Tuesday replied with an email criticizing the National Parks Conservation Association, one of the half-dozen plaintiffs in the filing, arguing that it is aligned with Democratic groups and priorities.

“Our parks are nonpartisan, but the NPCA isn’t,” said the department’s statement.

The coalition behind Tuesday’s action — a group that includes the American Association for State and Local History, the Association of National Park Rangers and the Union of Concerned Scientists, among others, and represented by legal group Democracy Forward- argues that the alterations, or potential changes, at various parks undermine their very purpose to educate and enlighten Americans.

The many changes in the past year stem from an executive order last March by Trump — “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” — which calls for eliminating “divisive narratives” from national sites. In its wake, historical locations have responded by removing exhibits that discuss slavery and the challenges overcome by minority and marginalized groups, as well as signs about science of climate change.

Last September, for instance, the Trump administration ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks, according to four people familiar with the matter, including a historical photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back.

The individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media, said the removals were in line with Trump’s March executive order directing the Interior Department to eliminate information that reflects a “corrosive ideology” that disparages historical Americans. National Park Service officials are broadly interpreting that directive to apply to information on racism, sexism, slavery, gay rights or persecution of Indigenous people.

This year, Trump officials instructed staff to remove or edit signs and other informational materials in at least 17 parks in Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Montana and Wyoming, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The documents also listed some removals ordered in August and September.

Among the national parks targeted in the new removal orders are some of the country’s most iconic: Grand Canyon, Glacier, Big Bend and Zion.

The removal orders include descriptions of how climate change is driving the disappearance of the glaciers at Glacier National Park, as well as a display at the Grand Canyon referring to the forced removal of Native Americans.

In a statement at the time, the Interior Department said it was implementing Trump’s earlier executive order. “All federal agencies are to review interpretive materials to ensure accuracy, honesty, and alignment with shared national values,” the agency said. “Following completion of the required review, the National Park Service is now taking appropriate action in accordance with the Order.”

In September, The Post reported on a slew of other changes, including the removal of signs at Acadia National Park in Maine that referenced climate change, and the dismantling of a display at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York that referenced historical events such as slavery, the detention of Japanese Americans during World War II and conflicts with Native Americans.