The National Park Service is implementing strict rules against people who deface Donald Trump‘s photo on the 2026 park pass card. According to NPR, the park has now decided to void passes that may be covered in stickers or defaced with drawings and other markings. The park’s latest restriction comes after visitors expressed their disappointment in seeing the President’s photo on the $80 annual America the Beautiful pass, which previously featured images of nature.
What is the National Park’s America the Beautiful pass?
The National Park’s America the Beautiful pass has served as a valuable resource for visitors since 2004. The annual pass allows people to visit 2,000 recreation sites across the nation.
The pass previously featured images of landscapes or wildlife photos, selecting the pictures from an art contest winner. This year’s pass, however, shows a photo of Trump next to George Washington. Trump’s critics have been protesting the change by covering his face with their own stickers.
Jenny McCarty, a park volunteer who is also a graphic designer, created special stickers to sell to people who want to cover Trump’s face. McCarty said the funds are going to conservation nonprofits.
“We made our first donation of $16,000 in December,” McCarty told NPR. “The power of community is incredible.”
What did the National Park say about the new policy on its annual pass?
The National Park revealed the new rules about the pass in an internal email to employees, SFGate reported. In a statement to NPR, however, the Interior Department said the park has never allowed passes if they are altered. Per the department, the park is only updating its guidelines to clarify the rule. Park officials said employees can make a judgment call to decide whether or not a visitor’s pass should be accepted.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in December to oppose the park’s newly designed pass. The lawsuit states that the design must be changed back to the image of the Glacier National Park, which was selected from a contest winner.
“This is part of a larger pattern of Trump branding government materials with his name and image,” Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, told NPR. “But this kind of cartoonish authoritarianism won’t fly in the United States.”