DENVER—The Center for Western Priorities today published an interactive map of the 133 National Park Service partner agreements that were disapproved by the Department of the Interior on August 7, blocking $25.9 million in funding. Parks and their partners had already secured the funding for these programs from congressional appropriations, existing federal programs, and internal funding. The Interior department review was the final step before the agreements could be signed and the money released.
The disapproved agreements were first reported on by the Washington Post earlier this month. Interior told the Washington Post it had disapproved agreements with groups “actively working against the best interests of the American people and the priorities of this administration.” NPS staff reported they received no explanation beyond a note in the records reading “Disapproved by DOI.”
Every agreement appears on the map with the park or office that requested it, the partner organization that would have carried out the work, the dollar figure attached to it, and the National Park Service’s own written statement of what disapproval means for that site. The complete dataset is available to download as a CSV.
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Center for Western Priorities Communications Director Kate Groetzinger:
“Revoking funding for organizations that support America’s national parks shows how much disdain Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has for America’s public lands. The Interior department says these groups were ‘working against the best interests of the American people.’ That makes no sense. Anyone working to make our parks better, safer, and cleaner is clearly working in America’s best interest.
“Every one of these projects had its funding secured, and parks were counting on the work getting done. Blocking these agreements did not save a dollar. It pushed the work down the road and likely made it even more costly in the future. At Joshua Tree, for example, national park staff wrote that without approval for their projects, wildfires there will be larger and cost more to fight. Let’s hear the Interior department explain why that’s a good thing for the American people.”
Methodology:
The map draws on data from the National Park Service’s Financial Assistance Submission Tracker, with status as of September 9, 2026 and subsequently provided to the Center for Western Priorities. The August 7 batch held 140 requests; seven have since moved to another status and are excluded. Project descriptions and impact statements appear as written in the records. Full methodology, a data dictionary, and the source code are published at github.com/Center-for-Western-Priorities/2026-NPS-Agreement-Disapprovals.
Learn more:
Trump administration blocks $25 million in funding for national parks — Washington Post
Gold statues and staff cuts: How Trump has disrupted America’s parks — New York Times