National Parks Science Lawsuit: Removals, Ruling, Injunction

The national parks science and history lawsuit is National Parks Conservation Association v. Department of the Interior, a federal case filed February 17, 2026 in Massachusetts by six nonprofit organizations challenging the Trump administration’s removal of exhibits on slavery, civil rights, Indigenous history, and climate change from parks across the country. On June 12, 2026, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley issued a preliminary injunction blocking further removals and ordering the government to restore altered or removed materials within 21 days.1Democracy Forward. Court Blocks Censorship and Erasure of American History and Science at National Parks

The Order That Triggered the Suit

President Trump signed Executive Order 14253, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” on March 27, 2025. It directed the Interior Secretary to audit monuments and memorials modified since January 1, 2020 and to act against content the administration considered “improper partisan ideology” or material that “inappropriately disparage[d] Americans past or living.”2The White House. Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum followed with Secretary’s Order 3431 on May 20, 2025. It gave the National Park Service 30 days to review every public monument, memorial, and interpretive material and to “immediately undertake” removal of anything inconsistent with the administration’s stated goal of “solemn and uplifting” sites emphasizing the “greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people.”3U.S. Department of the Interior. SO 3431 – Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History Park staff were also required to inventory gift-shop books and install QR codes inviting visitors to report “negative information” being shared about past or living Americans.4National Parks Conservation Association. Erasing History, Silencing Science Surviving content was routed to a centralized review at Interior rather than left to individual park staff.5Western Priorities. The Trump Administration Is Erasing History on National Park Websites

What Was Removed From the Parks

By the time the coalition filed suit, hundreds of exhibits, signs, and webpages had been flagged or taken down at sites from Maine to Alaska.

On slavery and civil rights, the Park Service removed the President’s House exhibit at Independence National Historical Park, which documented nine people enslaved by George Washington, including Ona Judge. About 80 items at the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail were flagged. The permanent exhibit at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park was flagged for using the word “equity.” At Fort Pulaski, officials targeted a reproduction of the 1863 photograph of Peter Gordon showing scars from whipping.6Outside Online. Removed National Park Service Signs More than 30 signs about John Brown’s 1859 raid were flagged at Harper’s Ferry, and a Manassas National Battlefield sign critiquing “Lost Cause” ideology was targeted.7Democracy Forward. Examples of Censorship From National Parks Conservation Association et al. v. Department of the Interior et al.

On climate and science, Fort Sumter lost a display about sea-level rise. Glacier National Park was directed to remove materials about disappearing glaciers. Signs at Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain and Great Meadow describing more frequent storms and rising temperatures were taken down.8National Parks Conservation Association. National Parks Conservation Association Joins Coalition Lawsuit to Stop Climate content was flagged or removed at Organ Pipe Cactus, the Everglades, Jamaica Bay, Great Smoky Mountains, and Cape Hatteras. Online, the Park Service pulled its general climate change page and park-specific climate pages for Hawai’i Volcanoes, Jean Lafitte, Lake Mead, and George Washington Memorial Parkway.4National Parks Conservation Association. Erasing History, Silencing Science

On Indigenous history, Muir Woods lost an exhibit covering Indigenous history, women in conservation, and John Muir’s ties to eugenics. Grand Teton lost a sign about Gustavus Cheyney Doane’s role in a massacre of at least 173 Piegan Blackfeet.5Western Priorities. The Trump Administration Is Erasing History on National Park Websites Little Bighorn Battlefield exhibits about broken U.S. promises were flagged; Sitka National Historic Park had a display on missionary mistreatment of Alaska Native people targeted; and Castillo de San Marcos saw language about the imprisonment of Native Americans flagged.6Outside Online. Removed National Park Service Signs

Other removals reached further. A Sunset Crater Volcano sign about basalt was pulled because it showed a visitor holding a Pride flag. Stonewall National Monument webpages were scrubbed of references to Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Lowell National Historical Park halted two films about labor history.9PBS NewsHour. Judge Orders Restoration of National Park Changes Made by Trump Administration

Who Sued and What They Argued

The plaintiffs are the National Parks Conservation Association, the American Association for State and Local History, the Association of National Park Rangers, the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, the Society for Experiential Graphic Design, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, all represented by Democracy Forward. They sued the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, Secretary Doug Burgum, and NPS official Jessica Bowron in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No. 1:26-cv-10877.10Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. National Parks Conservation Association v. Department of the Interior

The core claim is that Secretary’s Order 3431 violates the Administrative Procedure Act as arbitrary, capricious, and adopted without required procedure. The complaint argues the order ignored three statutory frameworks that bind the Park Service:

  • The National Park Service Organic Act (54 U.S.C. § 100101), which requires the agency to preserve resources “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations” and to manage parks for “the benefit and inspiration of all the people of the United States.”
  • The National Parks Omnibus Management Act (54 U.S.C. §§ 100802–100803), which mandates interpretive programs that “reflect different cultural backgrounds” and are based on “current scientific and academic research.”
  • The National Park Service Centennial Act, which sets standards for educational programs.

The plaintiffs also argued Interior relied on “improper factors,” never published required Federal Register notice, and did not consult the public. They asked the court to declare SO 3431 unlawful, vacate it, halt further removals, and order restoration of what had been taken down.11Democracy Forward. National Parks Conservation Association et al. v. Department of the Interior et al., Complaint

What Judge Kelley Ordered on June 12, 2026

Judge Angel Kelley denied the government’s motion to dismiss on June 4, 2026, and issued a 63-page opinion granting the preliminary injunction eight days later.12The Hill. Judge Rules Trump Parks Diversity The ruling rested primarily on statutory rather than First Amendment grounds. Kelley found that Interior failed to provide a “reasoned explanation” for SO 3431, did not consult the public or subject-matter experts, skipped required Federal Register notice, and did not grapple with the statutes governing the Park Service.13First Amendment Encyclopedia. National Parks Conservation Association v. U.S. Department of the Interior She characterized the administration’s conduct as a “dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization” and wrote that the government must present history “in full rather than in favored fragments.”

The injunction imposes three obligations:

The scope is nationwide, covering the more than 430 sites managed by the Park Service.9PBS NewsHour. Judge Orders Restoration of National Park Changes Made by Trump Administration

The Separate Philadelphia Case

A different lawsuit is running in parallel and does not affect the Kelley injunction directly. On February 16, 2026, U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe ordered the administration to restore the President’s House slavery exhibit at Independence National Historical Park in a suit brought by the city of Philadelphia under a cooperative agreement. She also barred the Park Service from installing replacement panels during the litigation.14ABC7 News. Trump Administration Is Erasing History, Science at National Parks, Lawsuit Argues On February 20, 2026, the Third Circuit partially stayed her order, lifting the restoration requirement for the time being while keeping the ban on replacement panels. Oral arguments were held on June 2, 2026.15Courthouse News Service. Trump Fights Washington Slave Exhibit Order at Third Circuit

Where the Case Stands

An Interior Department spokesperson called Judge Kelley a “liberal activist judge” and said the department was weighing an appeal.12The Hill. Judge Rules Trump Parks Diversity As of mid-June 2026, the preliminary injunction is in effect nationwide, the restoration clock is running, and the merits of the underlying lawsuit still have to be decided.