Brent Barron
Engl 122-354
What will the current administration’s reduction of funding and
environmental regulations impact be on America’s National Parks?
Many people have strong opinions about the actions taken by this administration on many
topics facing our nation. Immigration reform, healthcare laws, and tax policies are all divisive
issues that politicians and the American public seem to have trouble finding common ground on.
But, I never thought that the laws and statutes that protect our environment and National Park
lands would come under attack in this modern age as they have under this administration. While
conducting this research I tried to reach an understanding of both sides of the issue, but that
was difficult in this case. Attempting to reach out to current Park Rangers of National Parks was
road blocked by a gag order they have been placed under by the administration. I did have a
phone interview set up with Linda Lanterman the Director of Kansas State Parks who also
serves on the board for several associations concerning National Parks. After sending her a list
of questions I was interested in asking she then cancelled the phone interview. It could just have
been coincidence as I’m sure she is a busy woman, but it seemed like another road block. The
research I was conducting and the answers I was looking for to the research question were
surprisingly mostly supplied by the government directly. The justification provided by the
