The post Local, state, and federal open and historical spaces beloved. Yet federal threat looms. identifies the beauty and historical value of the Northern Neck and the threat presented by the nomination of Gov. Doug Burgum as interior sec. The post shares, for example, this description of this place:
The Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and the Chesapeake Bay form three of the boundaries for the Northern Neck Recreational Planning Region. There are more than 1,000 miles of shoreline, which comprise 38 percent of the total Tidewater shoreline in Virginia. Wetlands cover 37,890 acres of the region. More than 50 percent of the region’s land area is forested. (Source: Northern Neck chapter (PDF) of the Virginia Outdoors Plan 2018)
The post also summarizes the Burgum threat:
The beauty and importance of place are why President-elect Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Interior Gov. Doug Burgum is so troubling to so many. Burgum is all for making the US the world’s largest producer of fossil fuel and using public lands to do it. In fact, Burgum champions Trump’s aggressive drilling posture “drill baby drill.” On the plus side, he is not a climate change denier. (Source: What to know about Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead Interior Department and as energy czar)
The nomination worries environmental and public lands supporters and protectors as is shown in the image below. (Note: The full text is available at the end of this post in text format.) And it should worry those who value and use the vast outdoor amenities on the Northern Neck such as the Northern Neck Heritage (bike) Trail and George Washington Birthplace National Monument. While drilling may not be in the cards for federal parks on the Northern Neck, it is entirely possible that these places may not be maintained and protected under the next president.
The threat from the nominated department head is not the only one. Perhaps the larger, more onerous one comes from the Department of Government Efficiency’s advisors Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. A key takeaway from Our Parks aka Alt US National Park Service is:
The statements you’ve made—advocating for mass federal headcount reductions and scaling back regulations—may align with your industrial logic, but they fail to recognize the irreplaceable value of the lands, resources, and history that belong to all Americans. Public lands are owned by the people, for the people. (Source)
Read the full letter to Musk and Ramaswamy below, in the screenshot from FB and the text version of the FB post.
Open Letter to the advisory committee of the DOGE, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy
To the leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE):
As stewards of our nation’s parks, wildlife, and natural heritage, we stand firmly against any attempt to undermine the mission of the National Park Service. Our mission, rooted in the Organic Act of 1916, is clear: “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”
The statements you’ve made—advocating for mass federal headcount reductions and scaling back regulations—may align with your industrial logic, but they fail to recognize the irreplaceable value of the lands, resources, and history that belong to all Americans. Public lands are owned by the people, for the people.
Any attack on our parks, environment, or wildlife will be met with unyielding resistance from our coalition and the millions of Americans who treasure these spaces. The numbers speak for themselves: last year, national parks recorded 325.5 million recreation visits, an increase of 4% from 2022. Twenty parks broke visitation records. This growth underscores the public’s enduring commitment to our parks.
But increased visitation comes with challenges. Between 2012 and 2022, staffing levels at national parks dropped by 13%, even as visitation grew by 10%. Higher costs of living and funding shortfalls for critical repairs are forcing park superintendents to make painful decisions, reducing staff and cutting educational programs. Meanwhile, climate change is accelerating its impact: historic flooding in Death Valley National Park, wildfires near Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, and other environmental disasters are wreaking havoc on the very lands we are charged with protecting.
Our national parks stand on the frontlines of the climate crisis, and reducing federal regulations won’t solve these challenges—it will exacerbate them. Regulations exist to protect what cannot protect itself: fragile ecosystems, endangered wildlife, and irreplaceable cultural heritage.
The National Park Service’s mission is not up for debate. It is a promise to future generations. A drastic reduction in federal oversight will only widen the gap between the growing needs of our parks and the diminishing resources available to sustain them.
We will not allow these public lands to be sacrificed for your so-called “efficiency.” If you attack the mission of the National Park Service and the protections that preserve our natural and historic treasures, know this: our coalition will rise against you.
Respectfully,
Altnps coalition
For the People, For the Parks, Forever.