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By Paul Bean
Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) raised concerns over the management of national parks April 28 in a video from the Grand Canyon, criticizing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) April 21 ‘takeover’ of the National Park Service.
“This is your Grand Canyon,” said Senator Peter Welch in a video posted to social media of him standing in front of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. “This belongs to the American people. Thank you Teddy Roosevelt for getting the National Park Service going.”
The caption reads, “National parks like the Grand Canyon should belong to the American people, not Elon Musk.”
“And Elon Musk, keep your DOGE hands off of the Park Service. The things you’re doing are going to damage us and it’s going to mean future generations don’t have the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular part of America that all of us now can.”
DOGE has recently taken significant control over the Department of the Interior (DOI), which includes the National Park Service (NPS). On April 17, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (a friend of Gov. Phil Scott) authorized the DOI to give DOGE’s assistant secretary of policy management and budget, Tyler Hassen, access to their data and information on 400 national parks, 500 million acres of public land, and various administrative functions like financial management, human resources, and more.
“With this unusual move, Burgum appears to be going further than most other Cabinet members in granting power to a DOGE representative who has not gone through a Senate confirmation process,” wrote the Washington Post April 21. “Hassen’s decisions could have major implications for how [the] Interior — which is responsible for maintaining national parks, protecting endangered species, and overseeing drilling in public lands and waters — operates going forward.”
Critics have argued that DOGE lacks the expertise to manage such resources and that the delegation might not even be legal since DOGE isn’t a Congressionally established department.
Vermont does not have a traditional “national park” under the National Park Service, like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite. However, it does have federally protected areas that are influenced by federal policies.
Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Vermont in February sparked concerns over Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service (also under the Department of the Interior), and a significant federally managed area in Vermont. A snow report from Sugarbush Ski Resort’s official channels took an unexpected turn during the VP’s visit when snow reporter Lucy Welch (no relation to Sen. Welch) used her daily update to issue a passionate critique of the current presidential administration during the visit of Vice-President J.D. Vance and his family.
“This fresh forest air is, more specifically, fresh National Forest air,” snow reporter Welch wrote. “Right now, National Forest lands and National Parks are under direct attack by the current Administration, who is swiftly terminating the positions of dedicated employees who devote their lives to protecting the land we love.”
She also highlighted concerns about climate change, referencing Vermont’s rapid warming and potential threats to the ski industry. She criticized cuts to NOAA, the agency responsible for tracking extreme weather, and voiced solidarity with marginalized groups within the Sugarbush community, including LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, and international workers on J-1 visas.
Lucy Welch’s concerns are not unfounded. Sugarbush is on GMNF land, as well as some of Vermont’s beloved Long Trail, America’s oldest long-distance hiking trail, which stretches 273 miles across Vermont. The Green Mountain Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1910 to maintain and protect the Long Trail. The Green Mountain Club also collaborates with federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service, to manage trails like the Appalachian Trail, which overlaps with the Long Trail in southern Vermont.
A High Country News article reported Feb 28 that DOGE had terminated approximately 2,000 probationary workers in the U.S. Forest Service nationwide, halting projects on wildfire prevention, environmental restoration, and trail repair.
If the Green Mountain National Forest lost workers as part of the 2,000 terminations, it could face challenges in maintaining trails (such as the Long Trail) and managing environmental risks. Vermont’s forests are increasingly vulnerable to climate-related risks like flooding and wildfires, and reduced staffing could exacerbate these issues.
As of today it is unclear whether Vermont’s Parks and Forests have directly felt the impact of DOGE, however it is fair to speculate that cuts are possible.
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Categories: Congress
He also called criminal aliens ‘our friends’ while visiting deportation center
These politicians are getting paid by us to make laws and that’s the saddest part. They all need to step down now!
Little Peter can find a mule for sure to carry him out of there.
DOGE is NOT taking over… it’s cleaning up wasteful expenses for a more efficient park service.
The Park Service has been underfunded for years, this is no secret, so I can’t imagine the amount of “waste” they will find will be equal to the effort being put in to try to find it. Park Service employees are paid so little that it is embarrasing. They should not become another victim of our stupid culture wars.
It is a national disgrace that we put so little into these incredible places. Closed visitors centers, closed campgrounds and trails in need of maintenance, the list goes on and on. How about if Elon pays for everything being the great philanthropist that he is. Not.
Before you cast aspersions on the ‘underfunded’ support a national park like the Grand Canyon receives, you should do a little research. Not only do 4.9 million people visit the Grand Canyon each year, spending hundreds of dollars each day at park and private service providers (hotels, souvenir shops, restaurants, etc.), the park receives $24.5 Million in State and Federal subsidies each year to support its operations, not counting subsidies from various philanthropic groups. And Edward T. Keable, park superintendent, had a reported annual pay of $212,100, 175 percent higher than the average pay for federal agency employees and 195 percent higher than the national average for government employees in general.
You can see the statistics for yourself on the Grand Canyon’s website.
P.S. Elon Musk is volunteering his DOGE time without pay, all while making one of the best EVs in the business, providing Starlink communication services around the world, creating Neuralink interfaces to help disabled folks, and shuttling astronauts to and from the International Space Station when no one else could.
And as long as we’re discussing commensurate annual pay… While Grand Canyon Superintendent Keable earns $212K each year, think about the salaries Peter Welch and his Public Utilities Commissioner wife, Margaret Cheney, shell out to consultation firms like Efficiency Vermont each year.
For example, while almost ten times as many people visit the Grand Canyon each year as live in Vermont, on average the private non-profit, Efficiency Vermont, receives five times the Grand Canyon’s funding. The top ten of Efficiency Vermont’s management team alone earn what Superintendent Keable receives. And with more than $100 Million (four times the Grand Canyon Federal revenue) coming from Ms. Cheney’s PUC, the CEO of Vermont Efficiency is paid more than $300,000 in annual salary and benefits.
I sure hope Elon comes to Vermont when he’s finished auditing the Grand Canyon. Even he will be amazed at Vermont’s graft and corruption.
The statement that Grand Canyon National Park receives $24.5 million in state and federal subsidies annually is not accurate. While the park receives funding from the National Park Service, the exact amount of subsidies may vary from year to year. Grand Canyon National Park, managed by the National Park Service, receives funding through various channels, including base operating appropriations and special emphasis program allocations. In 2023, the park received a federal grant of $27.5 million for shuttle bus fleet replacement. Additionally, the park receives funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for safety initiatives.
Jay do you have any sources for your numbers? I don’t know how you came up with those numbers for Efficency Vermont, and I don’t see where EV or the parent company, Vermont Energy Investment, take in any regular Fed dollars.
212 k a year ? Maybe it’s time Superintendent Keable got an honest job ? Jealous ? Bet your ___ I am !
Allan, I’ve published the Efficiency Vermont numbers many times here on VDC. First, Efficiency Vermont is operated by the nonprofit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC). You can see its numbers in its annual IRS 990 filings.
And please understand that my citations are not forensic audits. My reporting on Grand Canyon revenues were for the most recent year it reported on its web site and, perhaps, would have been more accurately presented with the prefix ‘including but not limited to’.
None the less, you seem to understand the point. As Milton Friedman once pointed out; “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”
Allan, I forgot to point out that $102 Million of VEIC’s $123 Million annual revenue come from ENERGY EFFICENCY UTILITIES (VEU). VEU is a subsidiary of the Vermont Public Utilities Commission (PUC), on which Peter Welch’s wife, Margaret Cheney, is the longest sitting commissioner. And determining precisely how much of the PUC’s funding comes from Federal and State funds will require an audit. Suffice it to say, this is the nature of the money laundering methods used to obscure taxpayer funds going to various non-profit organizations.
Correction: ENERGY EFFICENCY UTILITIES (EEU). EEU is a subsidiary of the Vermont Public Utilities Commission (PUC),
Who paid for that little trip? Vermonters? Who cannot afford a cross-country trip themselves? ‘OL Petey can draw you some pictures.
For chissakes will someone do us all a favor and push him over the edge?
Everybody knew that cuts were coming . NIMBY in this case is just ignorance . Would we have been better off if POTUS had told all to cut X% instead of trimming fat from only those that have fat to trim ? Everybody wants to cut waste, and fraud, just NIMBY ! Get over it !
Wow,Peter Welch finally found out we have a Grand Cannyon in these United States, nice trip Peter was this on the taxpayers dime ???
And then we have Lucy Welch with her ” The sky is falling ” rhetoric, where do we find these people, and they wonder why DOGE is looking at waste, fraud and abuse !!!
Hey Vermont what are your Senators doing for you and the state, Bernie Sanders is on a nation tour with AOC, talking about oligarchy, as he flys around in a Jet, and we now know Peter found a large hole with in US………………… outstanding !!
Wake up people
What about DOGE finding funding for DEI in the rain forest, or Sesame Street in Iraq? If these blow hard politicians are going to comment about DOGE – comment about ALL the findings not just democRAT cherry-pick ones.
Sad day when our tax dollars pay for peter to go to the Grand Canyon to run his pie hole. His time and our money would be better spent on the concerns of Vermont tax payers.
I disagree. Whenever he is back in VT, he does more harm than good. Best he stays where he is. 😉
He doesn’t need a mule to take him anywhere. Being an ass, he should be able to move about as he wants.
OK…….”Little Squeeky Peter”……..
Now what is it exactly Peter Welch is doing for the citizens of Vermont?
Robbing us blind
Now, after we fire all of the forest rangers, what will we do with the forest?????
Peter, Peter, Inside Stock Trader how does your bank account grow so large? It would be nice if Vermonters could visit the Grand Canyon – yet we’re too busy trying to figure out how to pay you Peter and hold off Paul until next month or later.
How did you get to the Grand Canyon? Did you ride a bicycle or drive an EV? How large is your carbon foot print these days? I hope you enjoyed your vacation and I hope it’s the last one you grifted off the backs of your constituents. Remember Peter, there is no honor among thieves and the Devil’s contract always comes due.
Hows about a Senator from Vermont stay in Vermont and address issues like: funding of our Hospital and EMS system, keeping our local hospitals solvent, our education systsem, our electric power costs, the lack of infrastructure and domestic in state power production, housing, mental health, crime…………. Those are all things I can think of off the cuff that as a citizen of Vt would matter more to me than issues at the Grand Canyon. I have no doubt traveleved to on an airliner for absolutlely no good reason to do so or did AOC and Bernie hook him up with free Private Jet? You could have green screened the Canyon behind youwith photoshop Pete, and still kissed the a– of your out of state controllers and virtued signaled to all the other useful idiots who support your lavish lifestyle.