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.
The U.S. Department of the Interior has canceled maintenance and programming contracts at national parks nationwide, including several in New Mexico, stating the agreements conflicted with the administration’s priorities. Nearly 1,500 additional projects were reclassified as low priority, including 29 in New Mexico, according to data obtained by the Center for Western Priorities.
Affected New Mexico projects include weather station funding at Valles Caldera, tribal documentation at Petroglyph National Monument, museum inventory work at Aztec Ruins, septic repairs at Chaco Culture, and HVAC replacement at Petroglyph, despite some being labeled emergencies by staff. Critics argue these cuts neglect essential park operations in favor of other administration spending priorities.
A department spokesperson previously said in a statement that officials specifically targeted agreements “actively working against the best interests of the American people and the priorities of this administration.” The agency has also reclassified nearly 1,500 projects nationwide as “low priority,” including 29 in New Mexico.
The nonpartisan Center for Western Priorities obtained the details from an internal National Park Service database and published them in an interactive map. Many entries include notes from park staff describing the projects’ importance.
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 identify items that could be returned to Indigenous communities; and $30,984 for the National Trails Office to manage programs along Route 66 and other culturally significant roads.
Downgraded projects in the state include replacing failing septic tanks at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, which park officials noted are past their normal lifespan and could allow sewage to leak into groundwater if left unaddressed.
At Petroglyph National Monument, staff labeled replacement of failing HVAC systems at the visitor center an “emergency,” yet the work was still marked low priority. Other lowered-priority items include a certified medical director at Pecos National Historical Park who supports law enforcement and rangers, plus multiple repairs at White Sands National Park involving exhibits, fencing, signage, and water-tank protection.
Lilly Bock-Brownstein, creative content and policy manager at the Center for Western Priorities, argued the changes hit essential operations. “Roof repairs, replacing outdated computers, even buying toilet paper and garbage bags — none of that is low priority. It’s the basic work national parks need to function,” she said in a statement.
She further contended the shifts favor other spending. “It is illuminating to see which repairs and purchases were pushed aside so Secretary (Doug) Burgum could pay for President Trump’s vanity projects in Washington,” Bock-Brownstein said. “The National Park Service is supposed to protect every park. Instead, parks across the country are being neglected while money flows to the president’s pet projects.”
