The reaction to the 2026 National Park annual passes has been mixed, to say the least. When the Interior Department released its new design in November, many longtime passholders were surprised. There was no native flora and fauna, which had long dominated the passes’ aesthetic design.
Instead, the passes included a photo of President Trump next to a portrait of George Washington.
For many supporters of President Trump, another visage of the nation’s 47th president was perhaps a welcome sight. But the change drew plenty of negative reactions from many park lovers, including those opposed to the administration’s layoffs and funding cuts to the National Park Service in 2025.
It even resulted in a lawsuit from an environmental nonprofit that argues the design violates a 2004 federal law mandating parks passes feature the winning photo of the National Parks Foundation’s annual public lands photo contest.
Since then, several options have emerged for covering up the visages on the passes, either with stickers or sleeves. That, in turn, prompted threats of fines from the Trump administration.
Stickers and Sleeves for Sale
Several artists have been quick to offer solutions for pass holders who would prefer not to see presidents’ faces on their annual parks pass.
In early December, for example, ecologist and Colorado-based watercolor artist Jenny McCarty announced stickers to “cover up what you don’t love with what you do love: mountains, rivers, wildlife, and the places that make us feel alive.”
Soon after, SFGate reported on an Interior Department update to the “Void if Altered” rules for 2026. The rules had long stated that passes can be “voided” if someone alters the signature section of the card. In a December update, however, the policy also mentions stickers on the front of the pass. Voiding a parks pass would force those with stickers to buy another one.
But that prompted even more alternatives.
On Wednesday, another Colorado-based artist said he’s selling $12 plastic sleeves with “beautiful national park designs” that also cover up Trump and Washington. And this design is not a permanent alteration to the pass, so it can be removed when needed.
In his video announcement, Mitchell Bowen said a portion of the proceeds from the sleeves would go to the National Parks Foundation. In less than 24 hours, Bowen’s video has racked up 1.5 million views.
Legality of Park Pass Change
There’s a reason why national park passes have long showcased national parks: federal law mandates it. The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, passed by Congress in 2004, codified several rules about the passes. Among them was a process for choosing the pass design, which included public participation and an annual photography contest. That led to decades of park passes featuring national park vistas and wildlife.
For 2026, the winning photo was a landscape photo of Glacier National Park. Instead of using that image, however, the Interior Department opted for “new, modernized graphics for all annual passes, featuring bold, patriotic designs,” according to a Nov. 25 news release.
According to a lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity, that choice violated the 2004 law “by substituting a photo of Trump that was not taken on federal land and was not entered in the public contest.”
Kierán Suckling, founder and director of the nonprofit group, also took issue with attempts to ban passes with stickers covering up Trump’s face.
“Covering up important information on the pass would be fraud,” Suckling said. “Covering Donald Trump’s face, however, is not fraud. Trump is once again trying to make it illegal for people to make a public statement against him.”
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