March 2025: When Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk took a wrecking ball to our federal government, our public lands came under grave threat. ELP jumped into action and filed a lawsuit challenging unlawful federal budget cuts, interference with federal contracts, and firing of federal employees. Thousands of National Park Service and US Forest Service employees were fired and thousands of additional seasonal workers had their job offers rescinded. National parks and other federal public lands across the country were forced to cut hours, cancel tours, close visitor centers, suspend campground reservations, reduce firefighters, eliminate emergency rescue teams, and otherwise stop myriad services provided by the Park and Forest Services. As a direct result of these illegal cuts, park visitors will face greater barriers to visiting these public lands and will suffer from diminished experiences, such as a lack of ranger programming, longer lines, hazardous trail conditions, increased trash and uncleaned toilets. The goal of our lawsuit is to restore these essential services.