The U.S. Department of the Interior has canceled routine maintenance and programming contracts for national parks nationwide, including several sites in New Mexico, saying the deals ran counter to the best interests of the American people and the priorities of the current administration, Source NM reports. Nearly 1,500 additional projects were reclassified as low priority, including 29 in New Mexico, according to data the nonpartisan Center for Western Priorities obtained from an internal National Park Service database and published in an interactive map.
In New Mexico, canceled contracts include $8,000 to keep eight weather stations operating at Valles Caldera National Preserve; $169,127 to document Petroglyph National Monument’s significance to 29 tribes and pueblos for the National Register of Historic Places; $100,607 to finish inventorying old museum records at Aztec Ruins National Monument; and $30,984 for the National Trails Office to manage programs along Route 66 and other culturally significant roads.
Downgraded projects include replacing failing septic tanks at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, which park officials noted could let sewage leak into groundwater if left unaddressed. At Petroglyph, staff labeled replacement of failing HVAC systems at the visitor center an "emergency," yet the work was still marked low priority. Other items include a certified medical director at Pecos National Historical Park and multiple repairs at White Sands National Park.
Lilly Bock-Brownstein, creative content and policy manager at the Center for Western Priorities, argued the changes hit essential operations, saying basics such as roof repairs, new computers and even toilet paper are not low priority. She contended that parks are being neglected so Interior Secretary Doug Burgum can pay for what she called President Trump’s vanity projects in Washington.
Why It Matters
Critics argue the cuts neglect essential park operations in favor of other administration spending priorities.
About This Story
Daily Reports is Brant.One’s news roundup. Each day we gather the New Mexico stories worth knowing from newsrooms across the state, sum them up and point you to the source. This one comes from Source NM’s reporting, and their original story has the interviews and full details.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit Source NM’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.
