Instead of animals, Trump portraits: National park visitors protest new pass design
The National Park Service has urged visitors to refrain from defacing the image of President Donald Trump on their park entry permits. The use of Trump's portrait on the 2026 park entry permit, instead of the usual nature image, sparked a wave of outrage, according to Laist.
An $80 annual America the Beautiful pass grants access to over 2000 federal recreational sites. Since 2004, passes have typically featured landscapes or animals; images were selected through an open photo contest. Previous winners have included images of Arches National Park in Utah and bison grazing on the plains.
This year, instead of nature, the pass features paired portraits of Presidents George Washington and Trump. The new design has sparked criticism from parkgoers and a wave of protests.
On the subject: The Kennedy Center's renaming in honor of Trump led to lawsuits, canceled partnerships, and concerts.
Photos circulating online show many national park pass holders covering Trump's face with stickers featuring animals, landscapes, or yellow smiley faces, while some have completely covered their passes. A whole sticker campaign has emerged.
Jenny McCarthy, a parks volunteer and graphic designer, has started selling special stickers that precisely cover Trump's face, with 100% of the proceeds going to conservation nonprofits.
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"We made our first donation of $16,000 in December," McCarthy said.
She said the movement to "rework" the passes is less about politics and more about preserving the neutral status of public lands.
"The Department of the Interior's new clarifications only demonstrate that they continue to ignore how important it is for people to keep national parks out of politics," she said.
This week, the National Park Service's pass use rules were updated. They now explicitly state that a pass may be invalidated if it is "mutilated or altered." The update was made specifically because the stickers are becoming increasingly popular.
The Department of Internal Affairs stated that no new policy had been introduced. Interdepartmental passes were previously considered invalid if altered, as clearly stated on the card itself. The department stated that the recent update merely clarifies this rule.
The National Park Service has long warned that permits could be invalidated if the signature area is altered, but the rules now apply directly to stickers and any markings on the front of the card.
The decision whether a pass is considered "damaged" will be made at the discretion of park staff. The updated rules give them the right to refuse a pass if adhesive residue remains after removing the sticker, even if the image underneath is intact.
In December, the conservation group Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington challenging the new pass design.
The organization claims the image violates a federal requirement that the annual America the Beautiful pass feature the winning photo from a national parks photography contest.
In 2026, the winner was a landscape photographed in Glacier National Park.
"This is part of a broader pattern of Trump branding government materials with his name and image," Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, told NPR. "But this kind of cartoonish authoritarianism won't fly in the United States."
In the lawsuit, the organization is asking a federal court to remove the current passes from circulation and order them replaced with a design featuring Glacier National Park.
In addition, the plaintiffs are seeking a ban on placing the current president's face on passes in the future.
However, not everyone finds the new design problematic. Vince Wanata, chairman of the Park County Republican Party in Wyoming, said Trump's opponents should "suck it up" and accept the passes as an appropriate tribute to the United States' 250th anniversary, which the United States will celebrate on July 4th.
"Our country's 250th anniversary only comes once. This pass features the first president of the United States and the current leader of the United States," Wanata noted.
However, for many long-time park visitors, the dissatisfaction extends beyond the poor artistic design of the new passes.
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Erin Quinn Jerry, who buys an annual pass every time, compared the image to "a police photo plastered over a natural beauty."
In her opinion, this is self-praise.
"It's like throwing a parade in your own honor or putting yourself on money," she said. "Let someone else tell you you're great. Or that you're worth celebrating and immortalizing."
Asked if she planned to remove the protest sticker, Geri said, "I will remove the sticker from my badge after Trump removes his name from the Kennedy Center."
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