A group of historians and librarians, together with the University of Minnesota, is collecting photos of interpretive signs in national parks to preserve a record in case they disappear.
Nearly 300 photos from parks across the country were submitted to Save Our Signs as of July 17. Anyone who visits a national park is encouraged to add to the catalog.
The effort is in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump that seeks to quash references to U.S. history that the administration considers to "inappropriately disparage" historical figures or contain "partisan ideology." That order was followed by notices posted in parks at the direction of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, asking visitors to report "any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features."
The Save Our Signs project was launched over fears that a placard or other interpretive display “could just disappear and it would be gone forever," Kirsten Delegard, a historian and director of the university's Mapping Prejudice Project, told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
“We have no way to know what signs have been removed, or what will be removed in the future. We don’t even know what it means to ‘inappropriately disparage America,’” Delegard told the news outlet.
Burgum also directed staff to "identify and, where appropriate, restore historical monuments, markers, and memorials altered or removed since 2020," according to an email Monday from National Park Service headquarters in response to Traveler questions.
"Each piece of public feedback we receive is manually reviewed and evaluated before being referred to the appropriate subject matter expert. This deliberate process helps ensure that the input we act upon is both relevant and credible," the email said. "Already since the president’s executive order was issued, the department has received citizen-submitted concerns about historical accuracy at National Park Service sites and materials and took actions to correct errors."
Two examples were given:
- A visitor at Capital Reef National Park in Utah reported that a souvenir postcard incorrectly mislabeled a nearby landmark and appeared to be copied from Wikipedia.
- A video on the Washington Monument's website was reported to have "inaccurately stated George Washington ended his inaugural oath with a phrase that historians widely agree lacks definitive sourcing."
"In both instances, the National Park Service reviewed the claims and took appropriate corrective or clarifying action," the email said. "These examples underscore the value of public feedback in helping us maintain historical accuracy across our sites and materials."
The quest for visitor input sparked anger in early comments submitted at some parks.
"The executive order asking for feedback is ****,” wrote a Yellowstone National Park visitor in a comment viewed by Government Executive. “Parks already do an amazing job telling stories that contain hard truths and everyone is entitled to the truth to make better decisions in our lives. So what if people feel bad?”
About 30 percent of all National Park Service visits logged in 2024 were at national historic sites, historical parks, memorials, and monuments. Most of those locations in particular focus on history or important cultural moments, from the Revolutionary War to the Underground Railroad to the fight for LGBTQ rights and numerous other pivotal points in the timeline of the U.S.
The Save Our Signs project wants clear and readable photos of signs, exhibits, placards, and text from any Park Service site. Photos must not include people. The submission form doesn't collect any personal information, but asks for the date and location and some other generic information. Save Our Signs plans to publish the photos sometime before mid-October and at that point they will become part of the public domain.
"Real history is not just happy stories," the group says on its website. "We must act quickly to preserve all Americans' stories."
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