Anti-DOGE billboards slam national park cuts
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There are eight anti-DOGE billboards across the Pittsburgh region. Photo: Chrissy Suttles/Axios
A pro-labor news outlet has installed eight billboards across Pittsburgh to protest the Trump administration's cuts to national parks.
The big picture: More Perfect Union launched a multimillion-dollar national ad blitz in more than 40 cities decrying the gutting of "one of our nation's most treasured assets."
Zoom in: Pittsburgh-area drivers traveling west along Route 30 between Forest Hills and East Pittsburgh can spot two billboards slamming the Department of Government Efficiency. They'll stay up through May, per a spokesperson.
- Others are visible along I-79 near the Canonsburg exit, on University Boulevard in Moon Township, and on Library Road in the South Hills.
- The billboards mimic vintage postcards, but deliver a stark message: National Park Service budget cuts could mean overflowing trash, filthy bathrooms and long lines at sites like Valley Forge National Historical Park in King of Prussia.
State of play: Pennsylvania has been hit hard by the Trump administration's purge of federal employees at national parks and forests, including the closing of hundreds of campsites at a popular federally run Pennsylvania destination, Raystown Lake.
- State officials last month reported an uptick in people booking state campsites amid DOGE's cost-cutting measures.
Friction point: The Keystone State doesn't have any national parks, but dozens of National Park Service-managed sites like Gettysburg, the Flight 93 Memorial, Johnstown Flood Museum, and parts of the Appalachian and North Country trails could be affected by Trump's proposed $1.2 billion budget cuts.
What they're saying: "We believe strongly in the need for great public parks and outdoor spaces that all Americans can enjoy," said Faiz Shakir, executive director of More Perfect Union.
- Shakir, who ran Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, founded the pro-labor news outlet and its political advocacy arm shortly before the first Trump administration.
The other side: Interior Department spokesperson Katie Martin didn't address the DOGE cuts directly.
- "We are working hard to make this another great year for visitors so that everyone can enjoy the beauty and wonder of the treasured landscapes in our Parks across the country," says Martin. "Park employees nationwide are enthusiastically preparing for an exciting peak season, with a shared goal of delivering exceptional service and unforgettable park experiences."
Fun fact: The Route 30 billboards are along the historic Lincoln Highway — one of America's first coast-to-coast roads. It runs through many NPS-managed landmarks like Gettysburg, the Flight 93 Memorial and Independence National Historical Park.
Zoom out: More than two dozen of the group's 300 billboards are going up in Pennsylvania, including sites in Philadelphia, Erie and Allentown.
Editor's note: This story was updated to include a statement from the Interior Department as well as a fuller description of More Perfect Union.