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The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit Wednesday to prevent President Donald Trump’s face from appearing on next year’s National Parks Pass.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., argues the Trump administration violated the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act by substituting the winning picture from the National Parks Foundation’s annual public lands photo contest with an image of President Trump.
“Blotting out the majesty of America’s national parks with a closeup of his own face is Trump’s crassest, most ego-driven action yet,” Kierán Suckling, the center’s executive director, said in a statement. “The national parks are treasured by Americans of every stripe. Their timeless power and magnificence rise above even the most bitter political differences to quietly bring all Americans together.”
Suckling continued, “It’s disgusting of Trump to politicize America’s most sacred refuge by pasting his face over the national parks in the same way he slaps his corporate name on buildings, restaurants, and golf courses.”
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An environmental group filed a lawsuit on Dec. 10 to prevent President Donald Trump’s face from appearing on next year’s National Parks Pass. (iStock, Department of Interior)
The executive director added that national parks “are not a personal branding opportunity.”
“They’re the pride and joy of the American people,” he asserted.
According to the lawsuit, the 2026 America the Beautiful Pass was supposed to feature an image of Glacier National Park, the winner of the photo contest.
“Instead the Department of the Interior (DOI) replaced it with a closeup of President Trump’s face,” the center said, adding that the Glacier National Park photo was “illegally relegated” to the new “Nonresident” pass.
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The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit on Dec. 10 arguing that the Department of the Interior (DOI) replaced an image of Glacier National Park on the 2026 America the Beautiful Pass with a closeup of President Trump’s face. (Getty Images)
The center argued that the Trump administration broke the law by using a photo that was “not taken on federal land and was not entered in the public contest, and by creating new Resident and Nonresident passes expressly prohibited by the law.”
“America the Beautiful means wild rivers and majestic mountains, not a headshot of a bloated, fragile, attention-seeking ego,” Suckling stated. “There’s nothing beautiful about that.”
On Nov. 25, the DOI announced the launch of “America the Beautiful passes” intended to put “American families first” by implementing a new resident-focused fee beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The passes include photos of animals, parks, Trump with George Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt, the president most associated with the creation of America’s national parks.
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The Department of the Interior announced on Nov. 25 the launch of “America the Beautiful passes” with a new resident-focused fee beginning Jan. 1, 2026. (iStock; Department of Interior)
The Trump administration also added President Donald Trump’s birthday as a fee-free day for Americans visiting national parks, while eliminating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list.
Digital has reached out to the White House and the Department of the Interior for comment.
Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
