National Park Service received 35,000 comments after Trump order on historical displays
An administration order asked visitors to report exhibits viewed as negative toward Americans. More than half of the comments criticized the request itself.
Abc NewsThe Trump administration last year directed visitors at U.S. national parks to report displays or exhibits that described Americans in negative terms and to restore sites as uplifting monuments. An Associated Press review of 35,000 public comments submitted between June and January found that more than half opposed the effort. The comments were released after a Sierra Club lawsuit.
Comment themes Some visitors used the form to flag changes already made at park sites. A group called Save Our Signs documented at least 59 signs removed or altered at locations including Independence National Historical Park, Acadia National Park, and Grand Teton National Park.
Other submissions praised existing exhibits or offered unrelated remarks. One visitor to Gateway Arch National Park wrote that the site covered difficult parts of American history. Another at North Cascades National Park stated they had not seen any Bigfeets.
Changes at specific sites At Independence National Historical Park, exhibits on nine people enslaved at the site in the 1790s were removed and later restored by court order before further work stopped after an appeal. An Interior spokesperson said many flagged materials remain unchanged.
The order followed an earlier directive on restoring truth and sanity to American history. The National Park Service recorded 323 million visits across more than 400 sites last year.
