TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Brandi Fenton Memorial Park became the latest stop Sunday on a regional tour rallying opposition to deep cuts to the National Park Service.
The Keep Parks Public tour, launched by the Center for Western Priorities, is traveling across the West to raise awareness about the impact of cuts to national parks.
This includes cuts from the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill,” which rescinded more than $260 million in planned national park improvements.
“We are traveling across the West, talking to local environmental groups, local land protection groups, local hunters and anglers, about why public lands and national parks are important to them,” said Aaron Weiss, the center’s deputy director.
Local voices echoed those concerns. Oro Valley resident Jim Littlejohn, representing Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, described public lands as vital to America’s identity.
“It’s one of the major differences that we Americans have over other countries,” Littlejohn said. “We’ve got a place to go and relax and to cool and really do some deep thinking about what life is about. And it’s not always about just grinding everything and making money.”
Retired park ranger Bill Wade, who grew up the son of a park ranger in Mesa Verde National Park, said the cuts are already being felt in overcrowded trash bins, strained maintenance and staff reductions.
“Custodial maintenance is a problem, overflowing trash cans in some parks,” said Wade, who also serves as Executive Director of the Association of National Park Rangers. “And just a general reduction in staffing,” Wade said.
Wade added that while temporary, seasonal employees are doing their best to maintain the region’s national parks, once their tenure ends, conditions could worsen.
He stresses the importance of having backup fire assistance workers during fire season, which has seen the Dragon Bravo fire near the Grand Canyon’s north rim become one of the top 10 largest wildfires in state history.
He also says around 100 executive staff have left their positions in the past year, leaving a leadership vacuum in the organization, which will have to depend on more inexperienced leaders.
Wade warned that privatization of certain national parks could be on the horizon, especially as the agency is being set up to fail due to a lack of resources.
“I think that would be a real shame given that our national park system has served as a model for the world,” he said.
Pima County Supervisor Jennifer Allen highlighted concerns closer to home, pointing to Ironwood National Forest outside Marana.
“Ironwood appeared on a list from the administration of monuments to scale back in size and to open up the lands for resource extraction,” Allen said. “These trees are considered ‘nurse trees’ because they support other plants and life around them. They can be up to 800 years old, so it’s essentially our redwoods.”
This year, both the Marana Town Council and the Pima County Board of Supervisors officially opposed efforts to reduce the forest's public land.
Allen emphasized that saving these public lands is more than just about conservation.
“It’s also about supporting our economy. National monuments and the parks and the land that we have here, this is a core part of who we are and it’s what attracts tourists here.”
Weiss said the issue is not just political, but deeply personal. “Regardless of your political affiliation, republican, democrat, independent, public lands are part of who you are in the West.”
The Keep Parks Public tour will continue this week with stops in Flagstaff, Bears Ears National Monument in Utah and will conclude in Grand Junction, Colorado on Friday, August 22.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
