{"id":2618760,"date":"2026-06-24T21:25:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T01:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/national-park-staff-ordered-not-to-divulge-park-deaths\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T21:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T01:30:24","slug":"national-park-staff-ordered-not-to-divulge-park-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/national-park-staff-ordered-not-to-divulge-park-deaths\/","title":{"rendered":"National park staff ordered not to divulge park deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnational-park-staff-ordered-not-to-divulge-park-deaths%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2618760&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Interior Department has issued a new policy instructing National Park Service employees and other agency staff not to publicly confirm deaths or severe injuries in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">national parks<\/a>. An internal December memo directs staff to avoid confirming fatalities and rather only acknowledge that an incident occurred, provide a general location, indicate responders are on scene, and state that more facts will be released when appropriate. This marks a shift from previous practices of issuing detailed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-keurig-dr-pepper-vow-not-to-impose-a-covid-19-vaccination-mandate-on-its-employees\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Did Keurig Dr Pepper Vow Not To Impose A COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate On Its Employees?\">news releases<\/a> about fatalities within a few days.The policy applies to all incidents, including suspected fatalities, serious injuries, and emotionally sensitive events, aiming to establish a more consistent approach to incident communication. Department officials state that this change is not meant to conceal information but to respect investigative and privacy concerns while still providing essential safety updates. The policy comes amid an average of about 350 deaths annually in parks, which receive over 300 million visitors each year.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/interior-department\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"16456\">Interior Department<\/a> has directed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/national-park-service\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"190\">National Park Service<\/a> employees and other agency staff not to publicly confirm deaths or severe injuries in national parks, according to a report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cicc-investment-banking-head-to-take-helm-at-broker-galaxy-sources\/\" title=\"CICC investment banking head to take helm at broker Galaxy \u2013 sources\">internal memo issued<\/a> in December instructs Interior Department employees, including park staff and communications personnel, that they \u201cshall not confirm a death\u201d or disclose details about serious injuries, the <em>Washington Post<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/climate-environment\/2026\/06\/24\/internal-memo-tells-staff-stay-mum-deaths-national-parks\/?utm_campaign=wp_main&#038;utm_source=twitter&#038;utm_medium=social\">reported<\/a>, in what would mark a significant shift from the agency\u2019s long-standing practice of releasing information about fatal incidents.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4624249\/national-park-staff-report-deaths\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>National park staff ordered not to divulge park deaths: Report<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4623904\/watch-live-trump-speech-great-american-state-fair\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH LIVE: Trump delivers remarks to commence Great American State Fair<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4623917\/obama-trump-obsession-iran-deal\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Obama says Trump has an \u2018obsession\u2019 with him<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, staff may only acknowledge that an incident occurred, provide the general location, say responders are on the scene, and note that additional information will be released when appropriate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The policy applies across all Interior Department bureaus and offices and covers fatalities, suspected fatalities, serious injuries, and what the memo describes as \u201cemotionally sensitive incidents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guidance represents a departure from previous park service practices, under which <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >parks typically issued news releases confirming deaths<\/a> within one to three days after notifying next of kin and verifying information. Current and former park employees told the <em>Washington Post<\/em> that the previous approach emphasized providing as much factual information as possible while avoiding speculation, noting that public disclosure helps keep visitors safe by informing them about the risks they may encounter while on public lands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4621439\/luna-roy-oppose-house-action-senate-voter-id-bill\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4621439\/luna-roy-oppose-house-action-senate-voter-id-bill\/\">LUNA AND ROY VOW TO OPPOSE ALL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION UNTIL SENATE PASSES VOTER ID BILL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interior Department press secretary Aubrie Spady told the outlet the guidance was intended to create a \u201cmore consistent approach to incident communications\u201d and was \u201cnot intended to conceal fatalities or delay information.\u201d She said the department continues to issue public safety information, news releases, and incident updates while respecting investigative processes, privacy concerns, next-of-kin notifications, and, in some cases, requests from families not to release identifying information.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">National parks receive more than 300 million visitors annually, with an average of about 350 people dying in parks every year from causes ranging from accidents and medical emergencies to environmental hazards, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/aboutus\/mortality-data.htm\">according to<\/a> park service data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>contacted the National Park Service and the Interior Department for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interior Dept. bans confirming park deaths, injuries<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4130,"featured_media":2618761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25330088858787.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50652,32148,81700,8037,47115],"class_list":["post-2618760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-confidentiality","tag-national-park","tag-park-deaths","tag-staff","tag-wildlife-management"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25330088858787.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2618760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2618760"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2618760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2618764,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2618760\/revisions\/2618764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2618761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2618760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2618760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2618760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}