The new threats to the Yosemite National Park are created by man

By Pedro Hernandez, special for Calmatters

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Yosemite National Park is 135 this year. For many Californians, he can feel away from miles away, but near his heart.

Its rivers irrigate our farms, its forests cleanse our air, and the wild nature captures our minds and hearts. For Latin Americans – even those who have never visited – Yosemite flows through our lives: in the water we drink, the food we grow, and the landscapes we value. We are in the history of Josemite.

Still, this anniversary must give us all the break, because today Josemites and the lands that have such a rich history are threatened.

An icon of this story, George Melendes Wright, has been fighting for the park for a long time. Hired in 1927, Wright is First Latin American naturalist in the National Park Service.

He saw the bad governance threatening the park wildlife. When the Congress refused to finance a wildlife survey there, Wright himself funded it. His report “Fauna # 1” became The first Park Service Wildlife Plan based on ScienceAn authoritative text that has managed its wildlife management for more than 30 years.

Until the age of 27, Wright has reshaped the mission of the park service for next generations. Later, two mountains were baptized on it.

Wright’s story is more than a footnote. Its values ​​- humility before ecosystems, scientific integrity, respect for life – remain vital to the future of Josemite. They matter more as Climate change, habitat loss and poor governance intensifiedS

Today, Josemite is faced with a danger that Wright could never imagine: deleting his human stories and the dismissal of park employees.

Pressure

In March, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14253which he called “restoration of truth and strength in American history.” It directs federal agencies, including the internal department, to purify “incorrect ideology” of parks, museums and monuments.

Translation: stories that face slavery, root compensation, colonial expansion, or racial injustice can be treated as incorrect. The stories of Latinos, migrant perspectives and the struggle for justice in the environment – inherently complex and contested – can be erased.

The internal department has already issued Secretary Order 3431 To apply the mandate. With unclear terms such as “dividing story” and “shared American values”, officials now have a broad judgment to soften or erase uncomfortable truths.

In Yosemites, museum exhibits and interpretation signs are considered. The official history of the park risks being renovated only in nature, devoid of labor, conflict and resistance.

These ideological pressure comes when the park service is facing heavy staff and reducing the budget.

At the beginning of 2025 for 1000 employees “Nearly a quarter of his workforce,” they were fired. In Yosemite Biologists and catchment scientists have been diverted to clean baths or gates to enter staffS

Coalition of 40 former National Park Warners have warned Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that the parks open without sufficient staff to maintain safety, protect habitats or prevent vandalism. The garbage accumulates, the paths break down and the wildlife is diverging.

With less staff to steward, research, interpretation and training, all Visitors carry a riskS

Latinos are already facing barriers for access to parks – costs, language, transport. Executive Order 14314Called “making America again beautiful by improving our national parks,” it will add to this by increasing the entry fees for the “non -resident” park, which will affect many Latinos in California.

Environmental groups such as the GreenLatinos National Delegation call for California to require transparency before the stories in the park change. The elected leaders must also fight the abbreviations of the agency and the dismissal and protect the VRIT’s vision for a scientifically based guide that cannot survive without trained staff and adequate funding.

Americans must reject any policy that “restores the truth” by eracing complexity. If the executive power can decide which stories and people are eligible, then our national national memory and national parks become hostages to politics.

The future anniversaries of Yosemite will only matter if the land and history are protected. Let us insist that the next 135 years be written by many hands, many voices, all truths.

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.