US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order increasing entry fees for foreign tourists visiting national parks, while proposing steep budget cuts to the National Park Service.

The White House stated that the new fees will raise hundreds of millions of dollars for conservation and maintenance programs. The government defended the proposal as a gesture of fairness, pointing out that while American taxpayers fund park operations through taxes, yet foreigners currently pay the same entry fee, Reuters reported.

The executive order comes alongside a proposal to cut the Park Service’s 2026 budget by over $1bn—more than a third of its current funding. Meanwhile, staffing levels have declined, with only 4,500 of the promised 8,000 seasonal workers hired.

The White House cited Trump’s 2020 Great American Outdoors Act as a landmark achievement in conservation, according to Reuters.