Trump Administration Is Said to Target Park Service Grants

The Trump administration has earmarked dozens of National Park Service grants for elimination, including several that aim to protect public lands from the effects of climate change, according to an internal agency document detailing the plans.

A spreadsheet of grants likely to be canceled claims the cuts could save $26 million by canceling grants to universities, state historic preservation offices, tribes and youth corps.

It was developed by Conor Fennessy, a staff member in Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan. Similar lists of grant eliminations are being developed in other parts of the Department of the Interior, according to the two people, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

At the National Park Service, the DOGE plan proposes eliminating Scientists in Parks, a popular program that places students and early-career scientists at natural and historic landmarks to help protect ecosystems.

Also on the chopping block: a $67,000 climate resiliency study on lands surrounding the Golden Gate National Recreation Area; a $223,000 study of the impact of climate change on Alaska’s glaciers; watershed protection efforts across the country; and a $220,000 project to protect the Louisiana State University “campus mounds,” two dome-shaped structures created by Native Americans thousands of years ago.

The reason given for shuttering those programs, according to the document, is “Climate change/Sustainability,” indicating they were singled out because they touch on an issue the Trump administration has opposed addressing.

Others are listed for potential elimination because of “D.E.I.,” or diversity, equity and inclusion, which the Trump administration also opposes.

Grants for termination listed as D.E.I. include funding $462,000 worth of improvements at a park in Washington State to better accommodate children with disabilities, and $198,000 to the Santa Monica Mountains Fund, a nonprofit group, to mentor college students.

Also on the list, a $58,000 grant to the State Historical Society of Colorado to survey properties associated with gay and transgender history for possible nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Trump administration listed its reason for canceling the grant as: “LGBQ.”

Elizabeth Peace, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, declined to comment on specific grant eliminations. She said in a statement that the agency was committed to fiscal responsibility.

“We are eliminating wasteful programs, cutting unnecessary costs and ensuring every dollar serves a clear purpose,” Ms. Peace said. She added, “By streamlining operations and focusing resources on conservation, responsible energy development and public land protection, we are prioritizing taxpayers while upholding our mission.”

Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit group that advocates on behalf of parks, said the agency was saving very little money while losing a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

“It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish,” she said. “It’s amazing when you look at the dollars on all of these projects at how much the Park Service is accomplishing with so little money.”

Ms. Brengel said cuts to climate change studies would hurt the park-visiting public.

“The research that goes on in national parks is essential for how we’re assessing the conditions of our land, air and water in the country,” she said, adding, “This isn’t about the politics of climate change, it’s about public safety and public health.”

The possibility of grant terminations comes as the Trump administration is planning deep cuts at the Department of Interior. The agency, which manages more than 500 million acres of public lands across the United States, could see its budget cut by roughly 30.5 percent, or $5.1 billion.

It also is undergoing a reorganization that has raised concerns among Democrats on Capitol Hill.

In April, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed an order that critics said hands broad decision-making authority over the agency to DOGE.

In it, he assigned the job of overseeing the department’s budget, human resources, contracting, federal financial assistance, and information technology to the agency’s assistant secretary for policy, management and budget. The authority of that position was delegated to Tyler Hassen, a former member of DOGE, in March.

Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, sent a letter to Mr. Burgum on Wednesday calling the delegation of responsibilities “extremely troubling” and seeking answers about Mr. Hassen’s role.

“Delegating sweeping authorities and responsibilities to a non-Senate confirmed person in violation of the Vacancies Reform Act is baffling and extremely troubling,” Mr. Heinrich said.

He asked for details on Mr. Hassen’s role as well as information about grants that have been terminated and employees who have left the agency amid DOGE efforts to cut the size of the federal work force.

The Vacancies Reform Act is a law that Congress passed in 1998 that governs who can serve temporarily in positions that require presidential appointment and Senate confirmation.

Ms. Peace said the agency did not comment on congressional letters. But she said Mr. Burgum’s order ensured “that President Donald J. Trump’s executive order to restore accountability to the American public is carried out.”

She said the agency would “continue to prioritize retaining first responders, parks services and energy production employees.”