Trump Is Quietly Planning to Majorly Change How National Parks Are Run

All Interior Department bureaus are considering major shake-ups under an edict from leadership.

Donald Trump,Chris Wright,Doug Burgum

The Interior Department intensified its reorganization process in early 2026, with upper management telling leadership at each bureau that the dramatic staffing reductions opened the door to rethink how they are organized. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

The Trump administration is planning to significantly reorganize the National Park Service and other bureaus of the Interior Department, the second major shake-up of the nation’s public lands infrastructure in less than two years.

The agency is looking to reshape its most public-facing offices, according to draft internal agency planning documents from late August obtained by NOTUS and confirmed by an Interior executive involved in the reorganizations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The reorganization plans across Interior were developed in a “very hush hush” manner, the executive said, noting that no one aside from the very top leadership of each subagency has been involved in the discussions. That secrecy has created a culture of fear and anxiety in the agency and among National Park advocates, who have been cautioning against another reorganization, as NOTUS reported last week.