The George Wright Society champions stewardship of parks, protected & conserved areas, cultural sites, and other kinds of place-based conservation by connecting people, places, knowledge, and ideas. By uniting people from many different backgrounds around a common passion for protecting Earth’s natural and cultural heritage, we create the collaboration needed to meet today’s greatest conservation challenges.
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Latest top headlines • 19 February 2026
DOI is forcing USNPS to stop using reservation systems to visit several popular NPs, resurfacing concerns about overcrowding — reports of which are already coming from Yosemite NP. https://buff.ly/vkXVOks
Trump is planning to a so-called smart border wall through parts of Big Bend NP and Big Bend Ranch SP in Texas. https://buff.ly/lfv1htx
Citing DOI's "failure to comply" with her previous order to restore slavery exhibits at Independence NHP, the judge has given USNPS a hard deadline to put them back up. https://buff.ly/pL4TwpL UPDATE: The exhibits are being reinstalled. https://www.inquirer.com/politics/nation/presidents-house-exhibits-slavery-restored-judge-order-20260219.html
Coincidentally, a second lawsuit was filed Tuesday seeking to reverse Trump's removal of the Pride flag from Stonewall NMon. https://buff.ly/E44lTV5
A coalition of historic preservation and parks advocacy groups are suing Trump to try to stop his censorship campaign. https://buff.ly/pHV0XN4
In a pointed ruling, a judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstall interpretive signs related to slavery at the President's House site in Independence NHP. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/us/politics/presidents-house-philadelphia-washington-slavery-injunction.html
Utah's Republican congressional delegation is moving ahead with trying to annul a Biden-era management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante NMon by claiming it is a "rule" within the meaning of the Congressional Review Act. If they succeed, USBLM could not propose a new plan that is "substantially similar." https://buff.ly/dLIHYyy
Under orders from Trump, several USNPS websites with multilingual content have added a statement saying English is the "official language" of the federal government. https://buff.ly/4SMJW80
At a protest on Thursday, New York City re-hoisted a Pride flag at Stonewall NMon that had been ordered taken down by Trump. https://buff.ly/NGLOQ4d
As expected, Trump announced that he would overturn the Endangerment Finding, the legal basis for EPA's regulation of greenhouse gases. Democrats and environmental groups will sue to stop him. https://buff.ly/Uv9gsTk
INSPIRED BY GEORGE MELÉNDEZ WRIGHT
The first-ever biography of our namesake — the visionary who revolutionized management of America‘s national parks
“Emory’s enumeration of Wright’s accomplishments—including a survey of wildlife in Western parks, the first of its kind—is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Highly recommended for nature lovers and park enthusiasts.” LIBRARY JOURNAL
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