The following piece is an opinion and does not reflect the views of The Eagle and its staff. All opinions are edited for grammar, style and argument structure and fact-checked, but the opinions are the writer’s own.
If you’ve tried to visit a national park back in September and October 2025, you may have noticed something different: overflowing trash bins, thinning staff and “Closed Due to the Federal Government Shutdown” signs tacked onto ranger stations.
For many Americans, the past shutdown felt like another temporary inconvenience. But for our public lands — the forests, parks and wild spaces that belong to all of us — it was more than that. It represented a breaking point after years of policy neglect and underfunding.
The U.S. system of public lands is one of America’s greatest democratic experiments. These are not private playgrounds for the wealthy or fenced‑off corporate preserves but rather lands owned collectively by the people.
Places like Yellowstone National Park, Shenandoah National Park and even Rock Creek Park right here in Washington, D.C., are all part of the National Park System. They are where we hike, bike, fish, camp and breathe a little easier.
Public lands encompass national parks, wildlife refuges, forests, monuments and over 600 million acres managed by agencies such as the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. Most of these spaces are located in the western United States, in states such as Utah, Nevada and the Dakotas, but the East Coast has its own treasures.
Virginia, for instance, holds vast portions of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, as well as Shenandoah National Park. However, those same lands are being quietly suffocated by government shortfall and funding cuts.
Years of budget shortfalls and recent firings have left the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service struggling to maintain even basic operations. When the government shuts down, the damage multiplies.
Without park rangers, parks are seeing visitors litter, overrun fragile ecosystems and engage in illegal activity such as vandalism and trespassing. When the government reopens, the agencies will eventually reopen their doors, but the cost of the ecological damage will take years to recover from.
America’s public lands system is approaching a breaking point. Since the pandemic, visitor numbers have surged in recent years. Meanwhile, a 24 percent staff decrease and slashed budget lines have flatlined, or more recently, plummeted due to mass government firings and budget cuts by the Trump Administration. Trails will crumble, infrastructure will deteriorate and wildfire prevention will lag amid climate‑intensified seasons.
Scientists and rangers alike warn that the cumulative impacts of foot traffic, litter and unregulated recreation can permanently alter fragile habitats. What we were witnessing wasn’t an isolated event caused by a government shutdown. Rather, it’s a symptom of decades of deferred budget allocation and political indifference, finally colliding with the reality of climate change and mass tourism.
Moving forward, protecting America’s public lands requires both individual action and policy-level change. Contacting representatives and senators to lobby support for sustained federal funding for the National Park Service, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management has a real impact.
Utah Senator Mike Lee repeatedly pushed legislation in June 2025 to mandate the sale of millions of acres of public land in western states to stimulate housing and development industries, sparking nationwide backlash from conservation groups and western Republicans. Mass public outcry forced Lee to remove the legislation from major bills.
Following the seven Leave No Trace principles, especially recovering from government shutdowns when trash collection and maintenance within national parks halt, is vital for maintaining conservation efforts. It is our responsibility to make sure our parks are here for generations to come.
Public lands are not a partisan issue. Protecting our land, water and wildlife is a moral responsibility. Public lands are not empty spaces waiting to be developed. They are living ecosystems, homes to countless species, sources of clean water and landscapes that store carbon and help stabilize our climate.
They are also living history where Indigenous communities have lived, prayed and cared for the environment long before the word “conservation” even existed. To strip protections from these lands is to erase both the natural and cultural heritage of the foundation of our country.
Our public lands are quintessentially American and will forever be my favorite part of our vast and beautiful country. We cannot let corporations and greedy politicians take it away. Our lands were here long before we were, and we must and can ensure they remain here after we are gone.
Mari Santos is a senior in the School of Public Affairs and a columnist for The Eagle.
This article was edited by Quinn Volpe, Alana Parker and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Emma Brown, Arin Burrell, Paige Caron and Andrew Kummeth.
