National Park Staff Ordered Not To Reveal Deaths As Part Of New Policy, Report Says

The Trump management is reportedly ordering unit not to corroborate deaths aliases specifications astir terrible injuries astatine U.S. nationalist parks — but officials are adamant nan argumentation is not meant to conceal accusation from nan public.

In a connection to The Times, an Interior Department spokesperson said nan “narrative” that nan agency is trying to obscure accusation “is mendacious and reflects a important mischaracterization of nan Department’s guidance.”

An soul memo, circulated successful December 2025 and first reported by The Washington Post this week, states that Department of nan Interior employees, including National Park Service staff, are not permitted to corroborate deaths that return spot successful national parkland facilities. Only “appropriate authorities” tin corroborate a fatality aft coordinating pinch nan communications agency and notifying nan decedent’s adjacent of kin, nan Post reported, citing nan memo.

The memo did not specify what agency would beryllium tasked pinch confirming deaths, according to nan Post.

The Department of Interior did not respond to a petition from The Times asking to reappraisal nan memo. But arsenic reported by nan Post, it states that nan section “shall not corroborate nan severity of injuries” and “may authorities only that an individual was transported and nan method of transport.”

Staff are permitted only to corroborate that an incident happened, nan wide location wherever it occurred and that authorities are responding, according to nan Post.

This month, Park Service unit person offered only minimal specifications astir 2 deaths astatine California nationalist parks, including a fatality Saturday astatine Yosemite successful which a young man perished aft falling from a astir 600-foot waterfall.

A Yosemite National Park spokesperson would only corroborate nan day of nan incident, that it progressive a 23-year-old man and that nan agency is investigating.

“Emergency unit responded to nan incident, which remains nether investigation. No further accusation is disposable astatine this time,” nan spokesperson wrote.

The Department of Interior besides hasn’t issued a nationalist connection connected a death successful Sequoia National Park, successful which a teen was killed aft slipping into a river.

In an email, an Interior Department spokesperson told The Times that “the guidance was developed to create a much accordant attack to incident communications crossed nan Department and is not intended to conceal fatalities aliases hold information.”

“We proceed to supply nationalist information information, statements, news releases, and incident updates arsenic appropriate, while respecting investigative processes, privateness considerations, next-of-kin notifications, and, successful immoderate cases, requests from family members not to merchandise identifying information.”

Critics of nan caller policy, however, opportunity that communicating basal accusation astir deaths astatine parks is basal because it tin thief make visitors alert of imaginable risks truthful they tin return precautions.

For years, nan Park Service would often issue property releases connected its website wrong days of a death. The agency issued property releases connected astatine slightest six deaths successful June, including 3 heat-related fatalities astatine Grand Canyon National Park and a decease that resulted from a paramotor clang successful Arizona.

In nan Arizona property release, however, nan agency did not specifically authorities nan aviator died. Rather, it said nan personification was “transported to nan section coroner’s office.”

From 2014 to 2019, an mean of 358 deaths were reported annually successful nationalist parks, according to nationalist data. A bully stock of those were nan consequence of centrifugal conveyance crashes, drowning and falls, though nan figures besides see instances of termination and homicide, arsenic good arsenic deaths stemming from a aesculapian issue.