The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to install 12 signs outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to warn visitors about “personal viewpoints.” The project would cost $84,000, as detailed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a Sept. 3 letter to U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski.
In the letter, Burgum wrote that Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch and museum director Anthea Hartig have used the museum to advance “personal, radical ideologies” rather than tell America’s story “accurately and coherently.”
The proposed project is part of President Trump’s executive order to restore “truth and sanity to American history,” which includes a mandate to eliminate content that “inappropriately disparages Americans past or living.”
Earlier this year, Burgum released a related secretarial order inviting national park visitors to flag “negative” signage through QR-code comment forms. A Center for Western Priorities analysis found that just 47 comments—0.1 percent—actually supported removing any signage. Many comments expressed general opposition to the order, defended historical accuracy, and supported national park workers.
“The administration has already demonstrated its campaign to rewrite history at our national parks, and we should do all we can to ensure the Smithsonian can present our history, arts, and sciences without ideologically driven misrepresentation,” said Senator Jeff Merkley, who received a copy of the letter
Killing endangered wildlife is legal if it isn’t the target, new Trump rule says
A new directive sent to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees says an endangered animal or plant must be intentionally targeted for its killing to be considered illegal. The directive narrows the definition of what it means to “take” an animal. “This cuts against the entire history of the Endangered Species Act,” said Dan Ashe, who led the Fish and Wildlife Service under former President Barack Obama.
Quick hits
Trump administration to legalize killing of endangered species
Associated Press | Grist | The Hill | The Guardian | More Than Just Parks | WBUR
Park Service says Trump’s arch should proceed despite potential harm to historic sites
Washington Post | Washington Sun
Ranch manager tied to top Trump appointee started 5,600-acre Idaho wildfire
Opinion: What are we doing to our world of wonder?
Mike Lee moves to block any future restoration of Bears Ears National Monument
New mining claims filed in Bears Ears, and digging could start “in months”
Trump is considering more data centers on public lands than previously known
Colorado agencies call for removal of Roan Plateau parcels from federal oil and gas lease sale
Quote of the day
The Trump administration needs to stop cutting the public out of public land management. The solution is more public notice and more opportunities for stakeholders to shape projects on the front end.”
—Aaron Weiss, executive director at the Center for Western Priorities, Washington Sun
Picture This
Not your average RED fox.
This unusually pale red fox was spotted at Congaree National Park, and its striking coat is the result of a condition called leucism.
Unlike albinism, which involves a lack of melanin and often results in pink or reddish eyes, leucism causes a partial loss of pigmentation.
It’s not every day you see a white, red fox in the wild, making a sighting like this an especially rare treat.
Photo by Chuck Lockett
(National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. ajay_suresh, Wikimedia Commons)