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By Marni Rose McFall
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The National Park Service (NPS) has hit back at reports about changes to its uniforms, rejecting criticism and stating that the updates are minimal.
An NPS spokesperson told Newsweek that recent reporting "assigns outsized significance to changes that are far more limited than the story suggests."
It comes after SFGATE reported that the uniforms of National Park Service law enforcement rangers were set to change and would begin to resemble police uniforms. The update includes ballistic vests and new insignia, and the SFGATE report drew on criticism from some retired park rangers who said the updates undermine the traditional image of rangers.
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The changes—which the NPS maintains are minimal—come at a broader moment of change for the country's national parks, as the Trump administration has implemented policies including reductions in the federal workforce and a plan to increase national park entrance fees for foreign visitors while keeping fees lower for U.S. residents.
What Are the Uniform Changes at the National Park Service?
“The underlying facts are straightforward,” a National Park Service spokesperson told Newsweek via email.
“A subset of National Park Service employees who have served as federal law enforcement officers for decades are receiving updated insignia and changes to their personal protective equipment,” the spokesperson said.
“Those changes include standardized rank insignia, standardized law enforcement identifiers and green external vest carriers in place of gray ones.”
“Uniformed law enforcement rangers continue to wear the same gray shirts and green trousers worn throughout the National Park Service,” they added.
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The spokesperson said that the report from the SFGate “relies heavily on the opinions of two retired rangers to advance a narrative about the future identity of the National Park Service.”
Broader Changes at the National Park Service
The uniform changes come amid a wider series of policy shifts affecting the National Park Service during Trump's second term.
The administration has overseen reductions in the federal workforce that have affected park staffing levels, while officials have also sought to reshape the visitor experience at national parks through changes such as higher entrance fees for international tourists.
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In 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to develop a strategy that would increase fees paid by foreign visitors at national parks while keeping costs lower for U.S. residents.
The administration argued that the policy would help generate additional revenue for conservation and maintenance projects. A press release from the White House at the time said that "the increased fee revenue from foreign tourists will raise hundreds of millions for conservation projects that improve our national parks."
Changes That Have Been Halted
The administration has also moved to implement changes to monuments and exhibitions, but the process has been met with opposition.
In February, the Stonewall Pride flag was taken down after the Trump administration directed the National Park Service to limit flag displays at federal sites, but the administration later changed course and allowed it to fly.
The administration was also ordered by a federal judge to restore a slavery-related exhibit at the national park site on the foundation of former President George Washington’s home in Philadelphia.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Gray R. Thomas.
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