For land’s sake: The Death Valley billboards that appeared in Reno are part of a labor advocacy group’s efforts to rally opposition to DOGE cuts 

In May, billboards appeared in Reno depicting Death Valley National Park. Their purpose was not to encourage visitation to the park, however. Over a stunning photo of mountains and desert expanse, the text reads: “Heat Deaths Rise, Safety Staff Cut; Made possible by DOGE.” 

The goal was to encourage public interest in fighting back against the recent Department of Government Efficiency cuts across national parks.  

These billboards—and others across the country depicting national parks—were funded by More Perfect Union, a nonprofit advocacy journalism organization that aims to “build power for the working class.” The organization normally focuses on worker exploitation and corporate accountability. Founder and executive director Faiz Shakir believes that limited access to public land is a threat to providing equal access to public goods. 

“That concept of being for all is what we’re trying to defend—that if you start to find that public goods are being attacked or diminished or disrespected, it hurts working-class people the most,” he said in a phone interview. “The wealthy are always going to have great options at their disposal.” 

Shakir predicted that layoffs at national parks could lead to a push to privatize the national parks, bolstering the claim in some circles that the government cannot manage these places properly. 

“Right now, (national parks) are a public good,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a millionaire or a billionaire or a person making $20,000 on Social Security. You generally can have the same experience at a national park as anyone else—unless and until we start to privatize it, and they start putting pricing in there, and they start saying, ‘These are certain tiers and benefits for the wealthy, and here’s the rest of us who got cut out.’ That’s what I view as the great long-term plan of a lot of these right-wing architects of DOGE.”  

(This sounds eerily familiar to the ethos of the satirical parks director Ron Swanson from the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, who once said: “My dream is to have the parks system privatized and run entirely for profit by corporations. Like Chuck E. Cheese. Everything operated by tokens. Drop in a token; go on a swing set. Drop in another token; take a walk. Drop in a token; look at a duck.”) 

The public-lands privatization topic kept my inbox pinging with emails in May. On May 7, the House Natural Resources Committee passed an amendment authorizing the sale of about 460,000 acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah, including 15,860 acres in Washoe County. There was no local notice, environmental review or public comment prior to passing. 

Rep. Mark Amodei said in a statement on his website that the sale would be “delivering on the administration’s commitment to curb reckless spending, steward taxpayer dollars responsibly, and identify smart investments.” 

Shakir, obviously, does not agree. 

“I believe there’s an opportunity to raise awareness and to change course on this before it’s too late … that we could actually stop the massive budget cuts,” said Shakir, citing (at least temporary) reversals of initiatives to freeze Meals on Wheels and Head Start spending. 

After much public opposition to the amendment, the House removed it from the budget. 

The views from national-park gateway towns 

Shakir fears that staffing cuts will mean that national parks will have to limit the amenities and resources they normally offer, such as campground availability, tours and search-and-rescue teams. 

A representative from Death Valley National Park said the only park facilities currently closed are due to flood damage. The representative did not comment on whether the park is understaffed or experiencing layoffs. They did urge visitors to check the park’s website for closures and updates before traveling. 

Maria Gema Garcia Diaz, owner of Gema’s Cafe in Beatty—a gateway town for the park—said business has seemed slower this year than last. 

“There are probably half of the customers (this spring),” Garcia Diaz said. “It’s been slow.” 

Liz Woolsey is owner of the Stargazer Inn in Baker, near Great Basin National Park. She’s having a different experience, and is optimistic about the summer season.  

“I think people are really supportive of national parks, given all the administrative goings-on. That may be why they’re visiting now,” she said. “I have a hotel with seven rooms, and reservations are through the roof this year, all the way through October.” 

If you would like to join the opposition to cuts to public lands, contact Nevada’s senators, Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto, as well as Rep. Mark Amodei. A simple email with the headline “Protect Nevada’s Public Lands” can go a long way.