The Interior Department is asking national parks to remove any retail items from gift shops that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The department sent a memo to National Park Service directors and superintendents ordering a review of retail products in park stores. The memo said retail items are considered “public-facing content” and are therefore subject to Interior Department Order 3416, titled “Ending DEI Programs and Gender Ideology Extremism,” which implements President Donald Trump’s Day One executive order taking aim at DEI.
“In keeping with Secretary’s Order 3416, the National Park Service is conducting a common-sense review of retail items to ensure our gift shops remain neutral spaces that serve all visitors. We’re working closely with our partners to make sure this process is smooth and doesn’t disrupt the visitor experience. If any items are found to be inconsistent with the Order, they are being removed from sale,” the Interior Department said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
The November memo gives park leaders until Dec. 19 to conduct reviews of their stores to ensure all products fall in line with the order, meaning the items do not promote DEI, “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility,” and “environmental justice.” Items that do not fall in line with the order after the review “must be removed from sale immediately,” the Interior Department memo obtained by the National Parks Conservation Association reads.
The NPCA, a nonprofit group that calls itself “the voice of America’s national parks,” released a statement on the memo, standing against the review.
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“The National Parks Conservation Association opposes this latest move from the administration because we, like the majority of Americans, support telling the full American story at our parks. That means acknowledging hard truths about slavery, climate change, and other topics that challenge us as a nation,” NPCA senior director for cultural resources Alan Spears said.
Items in the gift shops are supposed to already go through an educational and neutrality vetting process before they are allowed on shelves, according to the Associated Press.