Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

Interior Says Covering Trump on Park Passes Can Void Them as Sleeve Workarounds Surge

The agency says the guidance is meant to protect anti-fraud features on the new cards.

The updated guidelines were highlighted in an internal email, obtained by SFGATE, from department business specialists Allison Christofis and Jeff Beauchamp. The email was shared to regional National Park Service staff, likely in response to visitors preparing to cover Trump's image on their own individual passes.
Texas has two official National Parks, including the Big Bend National Park and the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
Image
Image

Overview

  • The 2026 America the Beautiful passes, which debuted January 1, feature President Donald Trump alongside George Washington instead of the contest-winning park photograph.
  • An internal email by Interior business specialists Allison Christofis and Jeff Beauchamp states that writing, stickers, or other coverings constitute altering a pass, with staff retaining discretion if security features remain visible.
  • Officials point to anti-fraud elements—such as a mountain-shaped foil hologram, microtext, and invisible ink printing—as reasons for limiting alterations.
  • Reporting indicates rangers may require visitors to restore altered passes or charge the regular entrance fee if a pass is deemed noncompliant.
  • Artists’ stickers have proliferated, but a transparent slip-on sleeve by TikToker Mitchell Bowen has gone viral as a non-permanent option, and a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity challenges the redesign under the 2004 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.