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NPS determines that covering Trump's face invalidates your park pass [1]

['Jason Weisberger']

Date: 2026-01-06  

The National Park Service has determined that covering Donald Trump's face on your park pass invalidates it, an outcome that feels contrived given that the face is there for no reason other than Grandpa Puddin' Brain's ego.

Visitors who place stickers over the Orange Menace's face on federal park passes are learning that they've also rendered those passes unusable. The NPS explanation is procedural: the sticker obscures required information. The unspoken context is hard to ignore as his face itself does no functional work. It identifies nothing. It authenticates nothing. Its presence exists purely as branding and appeasement.

The Department of the Interior recently updated its "Void if Altered" rules for 2026, explicitly flagging stickers and other coverings as alterations that could invalidate the pass. The move appears to respond to visitors preparing to cover the image of Trump, which was set to begin appearing on passes Jan. 1 despite legal challenges. An internal email from department business specialists Allison Christofis and Jeff Beauchamp to regional National Park Service staff shared updated guidelines for passes this year, highlighting changes to the department's altered pass policy. The email was provided to SFGATE by a Park Service employee who requested anonymity to protect their job, which was granted in accordance with Hearst's ethics policy. The Park Service's pass policy has long stated that passes can be voided if the signature section of the card is altered, but now the policy mentions stickers on the front of the pass as well. SFGate

The Federal Lands Recreation Act of 2004 requires the image on the America the Beautiful national park pass be selected through an annual, public photography competition open to all, with the winning scenic photo meant to educate visitors about public lands. This year, Trump broke the law for self-aggrandizement. As people decided to put stickers on their passes and create protest art, it seems the Trump administration chose to deny them access to the parks.

Previously:

• America the Bootlickable: Trump illegally defiles national park pass with his face

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2026/01/06/nps-determines-that-covering-trumps-face-invalidates-your-park-pass.html

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