Policy Update\nThe National Park Service updated its policy regarding the defacement of annual passes, which feature an image of President Trump. The 2026 America the Beautiful pass, featuring President Trump instead of a nature image, has generated public criticism, sticker-based protests, and a lawsuit from a conservation organization.\n\n## America the Beautiful Pass\nThe $80 annual America the Beautiful pass provides access to over 2,000 federal recreation sites. Since 2004, the pass designs have typically displayed landscapes or wildlife selected via a public photo contest. The current pass design features portraits of Presidents George Washington and Trump, a departure from the usual nature imagery.\n\n## Public Response and Sticker Campaign\nThe new design has prompted criticism and a "do-it-yourself" resistance movement among park visitors. Online images indicate that many pass holders have applied stickers, depicting wildlife, landscapes, or other symbols, over the image of Trump's face, with some covering the entire card. A sticker campaign has developed in response. Jenny McCarty, a park volunteer and graphic designer, initiated sales of custom stickers designed to cover Trump's image, with proceeds directed to conservation nonprofits. She reported a $16,000 donation in December. McCarty stated that the sticker movement aims to maintain the neutrality of public lands, not to engage in politics. She also commented that the Interior Department's guidance indicates a disregard for public sentiment regarding the politicization of national parks.\n\n## NPS Policy Clarification\nThe National Park Service updated its card policy this week, specifying that passes may be invalid if "defaced or altered." This update, disclosed in an internal email obtained by SFGATE, coincided with increased visibility of the sticker movement on social media. The Interior Department informed NPR that no new policy was enacted, asserting that interagency passes have always been void if altered, a condition stated on the card. The department explained the update served to clarify existing rules and assist staff with visitor inquiries. While previous policy voided passes if the signature strip was altered, the updated guidance explicitly includes stickers or markings on the front of the card as grounds for invalidation. Park service officials will exercise discretion in determining if a pass is "defaced." The update provides officials with the authority to reject a pass if a sticker leaves residue, even if the underlying image remains visible.\n\n## Lawsuit Filed\nIn December, the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group, filed a lawsuit in Washington D.C., challenging the new pass design. The group contends that the design contravenes a federal requirement for the annual pass to feature a winning photograph from a national parks photo contest, noting that the 2026 contest winner depicted Glacier National Park. Kierán Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, stated to NPR that the design represents a pattern of branding government materials with President Trump's name and image, and characterized it as "cartoonish authoritarianism" that would not be accepted in the United States. The lawsuit requests that a federal court mandate the replacement of the current pass design with the original photo contest winner (Glacier National Park) and prohibit the inclusion of a president's face on future passes.\n\n## Differing Views\nVince Vanata, GOP chairman of Park County, Wyoming, communicated to the Cowboy State Daily that opponents of the design should accept the passes, considering them a fitting tribute to America's 250th anniversary on July 4th. Vanata noted that the pass features both the first and current Presidents of the United States, aligning with the country's 250th anniversary. Some long-term visitors expressed that their opposition extends beyond the design aesthetics. Erin Quinn Gery, an annual pass buyer, characterized the image as comparable to "a mug shot slapped onto natural beauty." She likened the decision to an act of self-glorification, stating, "It's akin to throwing yourself a parade or putting yourself on currency. Let someone else tell you you're great — or worth celebrating and commemorating." When questioned about removing her protest sticker, Gery responded that she would do so after President Trump's name is removed from the Kennedy Center.