Early reaction to President Trump’s nominee to run the National Park Service ranged from skepticism to outright hostility. Statements from conservation groups noted that hospitality executive Scott Socha would take charge of an agency that has been heavily damaged by the Trump administration over the last year.
Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said that NPCA was ready to work with Socha, but “he must put the Park Service’s mission first, stand up for park staff, fill critical vacancies and halt attacks on our nation’s history.”
Jayson O’Neill, spokesperson for the Save Our Parks campaign, noted that Socha “has zero experience in public service or conservation,” and that Socha has “made a career out of extracting maximum profit from our national parks, not protecting them.”
Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss highlighted Socha’s connections to the first Trump administration, when his company, Delaware North, was suing the Park Service for $51 million, claiming it owned trademarks on the names of historic park lodges, including “Ahwahnee” and even “Yosemite National Park” itself. During that time, Socha attended a meeting with then-Interior Ryan Zinke that was set up by corrupt congressman Chris Collins, who was under investigation for insider trading. Collins ended up in prison, while the Interior department ultimately paid Delaware North more than $3 million to restore the names of the lodges at Yosemite.
What gutting the Council on Environmental Quality means for public lands
In the latest episode of CWP’s podcast, The Landscape, Kate and Aaron are joined by Professor John Ruple, a public lands law expert at the University of Utah and former attorney at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to discuss the Trump administration’s dismantling of the CEQ’s authority over NEPA regulations. He breaks down what the Trump administration means when it claims to have ended NEPA’s “regulatory reign of terror” and why removing uniform environmental review standards creates chaos for public lands. Listen now on Apple Podcasts or watch the episode on YouTube.
Quick hits
Indigenous history and science purged from Glacier National Park
Trump blew up a cornerstone of climate regulation—industry may regret it
Heated | Associated Press | The Daily | New York Times | Vox | Grist | Reuters | Politico | The Guardian | Washington Post | BBC
Sen. Schiff launches Senate probe into Freedom 250 group selling access to Trump
ABC News | USA Today | The Hill
Meet the anti-democratic zealots presiding over Trump’s makeover of U.S. history
Doug Burgum, the regime toady of our time
Burgum’s new coal mascot tells a story about what it’s like to work under the Trump administration
Trump administration backs Daines’s attempt to strip wilderness protection in Montana
The Forest Service wants to ‘streamline’ public land management by giving you less opportunity to comment
Quote of the day
There’s always somebody who doesn’t get the memo. Such as folks who have yet to learn that Utah is a state where public-lands tourism is key to the economy. What’s really sad is that among those who have not received, or understood, this information are the members of our congressional delegation.”
—Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board
Picture This
Are you interested in hiking Angels Landing anytime in 2026? Then you need to apply for a permit lottery!
Seasonal applications for spring hikes will open Friday, February 13th and will close at 11:59pm on Wednesday, February 25th.
For more information, important dates for the rest of the year, and the link to apply, visit go.nps.gov/AngelsLanding