Gift shops and bookstores at National Parks must remove any items that have to do with “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” otherwise known as “DEI,” by December 19, 2025. In an Interior Department memo these books and souvenirs are referred to as “discriminatory, illegal and immoral.” Many of these gift shops are run by private entities and they are covered by the same order to rid DEI of their stores’ shelves.
The Interior Department memo was issued in November. It is Department Order 3416, titled “Ending DEI Programs and Gender Ideology Extremism,” and it is designed to further President Trump’s Day One Executive Order on DEI at the National Parks.
At Zion National Park, the gift shop is run by the non-profit Zion Forever corporation. Natalie Britt CEO of the Zion Forever Project said that the store is trying to comply with the order but “our goal is to tell the story of our park.” The local Fox station has released a report saying that the shop may be violation of the new policy because “Books found inside the Zion shop include titles about African American women in the Old West and Native American history.” Britt responded that the gift shop items have a purpose to serve. She says “I actually think it’s about the citizens of our country and the story of our country. We cannot erase history. History deserves honesty.” She added, “We’re never going to stop telling the story of our park.”
Following this review, park concessioners and cooperating associations must remove any materials found not to be in line with President Trump’s executive orders 14151, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Program and Preferencing,“ and 14168, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
The memo outlines very few specific criteria for park staff to use to determine what items should be reviewed or removed, but does identify phrases like “diversity, equity, inclusion,” and “environmental justice,” and notes the Department of the Interior intention to “direct broad action related to cessation of activities intended to further such equity-related concepts.”
The memo sets a December 19th, 2025 deadline for park staff to conduct this review. This process follows months of Trump administration efforts to erase history and silence science at national parks.
In response to this new review of giftshop materials, Alan Spears, National Parks Conservation Senior Director for Cultural Resources, stated:
“Banning history books from park stores and cracking down on park T-shirts and keychains is not what national park visitors want from their Park Service. Going after gift shops is just one part of the administration’s deeply troubling pattern of silencing science and hiding history in our parks. It’s a bad idea that has proven deeply unpopular with the millions of people who come to our national parks to learn about America’s natural wonders and unique diverse history.
“There is something for all of us at our parks, from the Civil War buffs to the citizen scientists to the students learning about the Civil Rights movement, and everyone in between. We trust expert national park rangers to help us understand these complex topics. But now, after mass firings that have left the Park Service down a quarter of their staff, the administration is forcing these professionals to prioritize a sham review of gift shop materials over doing their jobs for the American people. There has been no transparency or guidance on this review, once again undermining Park Service staff. Park Service staff should be managing parks, not censorship campaigns.”
“The National Parks Conservation Association opposes this latest move from the administration because we, like the majority of Americans, support telling the full American story at our parks. That means acknowledging hard truths about slavery, climate change, and other topics that challenge us as a nation. From the giftshop to the trailhead, we support the Park Service’s longstanding efforts to bring us closer together as Americans.”
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