National Park Service Says Law-Enforcement Rangers Keep Traditional Uniforms, Receive Minor Equipment Updates

The National Park Service stated that a subset of its employees who serve as federal law enforcement officers are receiving updated insignia and changes to their personal protective equipment. Uniformed law enforcement rangers continue to wear the same gray shirts and green trousers worn throughout the National Park Service.

Newsweek reported that the clarification came after SFGATE said the uniforms of National Park Service law enforcement rangers were set to change and would begin to resemble police uniforms.

The update includes ballistic vests and new insignia. Some retired park rangers criticized the uniform updates, stating they undermine the traditional image of rangers. The uniform changes come amid a wider series of policy shifts affecting the National Park Service during Trump's second term.

In 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to develop a strategy to increase fees paid by foreign visitors at national parks while keeping costs lower for U.S. residents. The Trump administration argued that the fee policy would help generate additional revenue for conservation and maintenance projects.

The administration has overseen reductions in the federal workforce that have affected park staffing levels. In February, the Stonewall Pride flag was taken down after the Trump administration directed the National Park Service to limit flag displays at federal sites, but the administration later changed course and allowed the Stonewall Pride flag to fly.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore a slavery-related exhibit at the national park site on the foundation of former President George Washington’s home in Philadelphia.