An NPCA and YouGov poll finds 78 percent of Americans believe national parks should not remove materials on America’s history. Signs describing Wabanaki history as well as the impacts of climate change have been removed from Acadia National Park in Maine. (Adobe Stock)
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By Kathryn Carley
Feb 20, 2026
A coalition of conservation groups has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop the removal of historical and science-based materials from America’s national parks.
It includes signage on the effects of climate change and Wabanaki heritage in Maine’s Acadia National Park and the controversial removal of a slavery exhibit in Philadelphia.
Kristin Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, said visitors are curious about local history and the changing environment, not just cute stories.
“This is not what the public wants,” Brengel contended. “No one is clamoring for this and no one is asking for it. The administration is headed in the exact wrong direction.”
An executive order signed by President Donald Trump last year requires park materials considered “disparaging” to American greatness be removed. Brengel argued it goes against long-standing National Park Service laws requiring educational signs or brochures be peer-reviewed and meet the highest scientific standards.
Last summer, signs were posted at all national parks, asking the public to report any visible information deemed negative about America’s past. Data obtained from QR codes used by visitors revealed overwhelming support for the factual interpretation of science and history. Still, exhibits on women, Black and Indigenous people have been removed.
Brengal stressed the public has a right to be concerned.
“We really just want to make sure the facts are the facts, the science is the science, and that people get a really true picture of the places that we’ve protected,” Brengel emphasized. “So that our kids and grandkids can enjoy them for future generations.”
Brengal added people love America’s national parks, which set a record with more than 330 million visits in 2024. She noted the administration has also cut about 25 percent of National Park Service staff, further limiting their ability to protect the natural resources within these iconic places. Polls show a bipartisan majority of Americans disapprove.
