From The Washington Post:
Responding to a lawsuit filed by a coalition that includes national park and history advocates, Kelley wrote the policy “sets a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization.” She gave the federal government 21 days to restore and reinstall all interpretive materials at park sites managed by the NPS that have been altered, removed or damaged as a result of the executive order.
“History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation’s story,” Kelley wrote. “Indeed, at a time of facts and alternative facts, the only thing we must be able to rely on as undeniable truth is history. And telling the full truths of our shared story helps our Nation heal from past wrongs, rather than prolonging us.”
Interior Department spokesperson Katie Martin said in an email that the agency is reviewing its appeal options “while we celebrate UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend in honor of our nation’s 250th with the greatest president in the history of our country — President Donald J. Trump.”
The coalition — which is represented by Democracy Forward and includes the National Parks Conservation Association, the American Association for State and Local History, the Association of National Park Rangers, the Society for Experiential Graphic Design and the Union of Concerned Scientists — filed the lawsuit in February, arguing that the Interior Department ignored well-established principles and legal requirements when seeking to overhaul information presented at national parks.
Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources at the National Parks Conservation Association, said Friday’s ruling “will help protect national parks from the administration’s unprecedented campaign to erase history and science at these one-of-a-kind places.”
“National parks belong to the American people and censorship of any kind goes against the values these places represent,” Spears added. “Americans count on national parks to help us understand our full, rich history. Stories of triumph and tragedy alike deserve to be told out loud at parks.”
National Park Service staff members have responded to the executive order by removing exhibits that discuss slavery and the challenges overcome by minority and marginalized groups, as well as signs about the science of climate change. Staffers have catalogued several hundred descriptions and materials across the national park system as potentially violating the order, according to an internal database reviewed by The Post, though many of these items still remain in place.
Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that NPS ordered the removal of quotes at the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston. A review of quotes at the site had been prompted by a visitor’s complaint that a quote related to women’s suffrage was “woke” feminist ideology.
Earlier this year Trump officials instructed staff to remove or edit signs and other informational materials in at least 17 parks in Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Montana and Wyoming, according to documents reviewed by The Post. The targeted language included descriptions of how climate change is driving the disappearance of the glaciers at Glacier National Park as well as a display at the Grand Canyon referring to the forced removal of Native Americans.
Last year, the Trump administration in September ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks, including a historical photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back.
Jake Spring contributed to this report.
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