National parks remove signs about climate, slavery and Japanese detention

The removals come after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March seeking to remove “improper partisan ideology” from federal institutions.

September 20, 2025

The National Park Service has removed signs at Acadia National Park in Maine that make reference to climate change amid the Trump administration’s wider effort to remove information that it says undermines “the remarkable achievements of the United States.” A sign has also been removed from at least one additional park that referred to slavery, the detention of Japanese Americans during World War II and conflicts with Native Americans.

The removals come after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in March seeking to remove “improper partisan ideology” from federal institutions, including the Smithsonian museums, that he says was perpetuated by the Biden administration. Park Service officials have broadly interpreted the order to apply to information on racism, sexism, Indigenous persecution, gay rights and climate change.

That sweeping effort has also led the Park Service to order the removal of information related to slavery, including an iconic photo of a formerly enslaved man displaying the scars on his back, which was first reported by The Washington Post. A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, subsequently confirmed that the photo was ordered removed from the Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia.

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By:  Jake Spring
Source: The Washington Post