A sticker covering Trump's face could now void your national park pass
New Interior Department guidance says stickers or coverings on national park passes may invalidate them, amid protests over Donald Trump's image.
Fawning over a narcissist.
Kinda disgusting.
Yes, but the spokeswoman is decorative... as usual in MAGAland...
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
New America the Beautiful passes for 2026 feature an image of President Donald Trump,
leading some park visitors to protest by placing stickers over the design.
U.S. Department of the Interior/Getty Images/Illustration by SFGATE
Covering up Donald Trump's face on an America the Beautiful pass may come with an extra cost at national park entrance gates this year.
The Department of the Interior recently updated its "Void if Altered" rules for 2026, explicitly flagging stickers and other coverings as alterations that could invalidate the pass. The move appears to respond to visitors preparing to cover the image of Trump, which was set to begin appearing on passes Jan. 1 despite legal challenges.
An internal email from department business specialists Allison Christofis and Jeff Beauchamp to regional National Park Service staff shared updated guidelines for passes this year, highlighting changes to the department's altered pass policy. The email was provided to SFGATE by a Park Service employee who requested anonymity to protect their job, which was granted in accordance with Hearst's ethics policy.
The Park Service's pass policy has long stated that passes can be voided if the signature section of the card is altered, but now the policy mentions stickers on the front of the pass as well.
"Defacing the pass in any way, including writing on it or adding stickers or other coverings, is a form of altering the pass," reads the policy. "Altering a pass can cover up important information and required security features necessary to prevent fraud."
It goes on to explain that staff members handed altered passes can make a judgment call on whether to accept them, assuming that all security features — a mountain-shaped foil hologram, some imprinted micro text, and the word "interagency" across the front of the pass in invisible ink — are all still visible. Staff members can ask visitors to remove any stickers or charge the visitor for a day pass or pass replacement.
Previous annual park passes for national parks.
National Parks Service/Getty Images/Illustration by SFGATE
Elizabeth Peace, a senior public affairs specialist with the Interior Department, did not confirm the specific language in the policy that was changed this year but told SFGATE that changes made were to clarify the existing policy.
"[The changes] provided additional clarification to help avoid confusion and support visitor interactions due to the volume of questions received from staff and visitors," she wrote in an email.
Peace did not respond to questions about the levels of fraud that led to the introduction of security features on park passes in 2017 or any details about fraud since then.
The updated guidance arrives as some artists and small businesses have begun selling stickers designed to cover the image on the front of the America the Beautiful pass. Colorado ecologist and watercolor artist Jenny McCarty recently began selling stickers featuring scenes from national parks, saying the designs are meant as a form of protest and an effort to restore what she views as the pass's aesthetic purpose. McCarty told SFGATE in December that she had received more than 100 orders in two days, with proceeds earmarked for national park-related nonprofits.
The employee who provided the emails to SFGATE said that they and colleagues were facing this issue for the first time.
"I've personally accepted passes that people put stickers on because they just like stickers and it's never been a problem," they said. "If you buy a pass from REI, they have a little sticker on it that a lot of people don't take off. We've accepted those and never had a problem."
Annual park pass illustration.
Getty Images/National Park Service/Illustration by SFGATE
The employee also told SFGATE that they were concerned that adding additional pass policies could slow down lines at park gates — an issue that's also been brought up regarding new fees for international visitors.
The dispute over altered passes is unfolding alongside a broader legal fight over the design itself. In December, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit arguing that including Trump's face on the America the Beautiful pass violates federal law governing how pass artwork is selected. The group alleges the Interior Department bypassed a required public process and turned the pass into a partisan platform — a claim the department has not publicly addressed. Legal experts previously told SFGATE the move likely overstepped the president's authority under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.
Kieran Suckling, the nonprofit's executive director, told SFGATE in an email that there hasn't been any movement on the lawsuit aside from a notice of appearance filing indicating that Peter Martin Torstensen, the deputy assistant attorney general of the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, will be defending the federal government in the case.
ABOUT ELIZABETH PEACE
Jennifer Elizabeth Peace is an Air Force veteran, and former journalist and TV news anchor. After working on Capitol Hill as a communications director and speechwriter for Congress, she now serves as the Director of Public and Congressional Affairs Office for Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona. She is a Christian blogger and podcaster for Motherhood in the Latter Days, and founder of Operation Innocence, a non-profit designed to protect military children from child sexual abuse.
She is a trained facilitator for Darkness to Light, teaching the Stewards of Children child sexual abuse prevention program.
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Definitely qualified...
When I read first thing this morning on USA TODAY that Trump put his face on the pass it was my first laugh out loud of the day. When is he going to put his face on American paper money?
Is it mandatory to get the pass with his ugly mug on it?
Get a lifetime Military pass. No mug shots on mine
More TDS on display. Nothing more.
Dumb that they are going to do it. Dumber that it would cause anyone any angst. Dumbest that Rep Al Green might want to impeach him over it.
Putting his face on the pass is silly
Putting a sticker over his face is dumb
Not allowing people in the park because of it is stupid.
I hope his face will not be on the lifetime pass for seniors, I am planning on getting one this year.
I wonder if this sticker over his face would be OK since it is still him(kinda):
Agree on all fronts