Sierra Club called President Donald Trump’s move to donate his first quarterly salary of $78,000 to the National Park Service a “publicity stunt” and a “distraction that falls far short of the $12 billion needed to address the current backlog of park maintenance.”
The environmental group said the move comes after Trump proposed slashing the Department of the Interior’s budget by 12 percent, which includes the National Park Service.
“America’s parks, and the people and economies they support, need real funding, not a giant fake check,” the group tweeted.
On Monday, Sean Spicer handed the check worth $78,333 to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who oversees national parks and monuments.
In a statement, Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, stated, “If Donald Trump is actually interested in helping our parks, he should stop trying to slash their budgets to historically low levels. This publicity stunt is a sad consolation prize as Trump tries to stifle America’s best idea. It’s a distraction that falls far short of the $12 billion needed to address the current backlog of park maintenance and does nothing to offset the almost $2 billion Trump asked Congress to cut from the Department of the Interior in his budget. America’s parks, and the people and economies they support, need real funding, not a giant fake check. Parks are a good investment and we must invest now if we want them to be around for our kids.”
Photo courtesy Sierra Club
