Signs of the times: Removing stories of America's past from our national parks

The peace and tranquility of Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco – home to 500+ acres of old-growth redwoods – make it just about the last place you'd expect to find a fight brewing. "The fact that they're taking down whole groups of signs about climate change and our nation's history is disappointing, and embarrassing," said retired U.S. Park Ranger Lucy Scott In:

The peace and tranquility of Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco – home to 500+ acres of old-growth redwoods – make it just about the last place you'd expect to find a fight brewing. "The fact that they're taking down whole groups of signs about climate change and our nation's history is disappointing, and embarrassing," said retired U.S. Park Ranger Lucy Scott

While it takes a lot to anger Scott, an executive order from President Trump entitled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" did the trick, calling for signs promoting "divisive narratives" and "corrosive ideology" at national parks to be removed.

That included a sign Scott made to inform visitors climate change threatens the redwoods by reducing the fog they rely on for water – a scientific fact. "We're gonna continue to fight climate change and protect the redwood forests the best that we can," Scott said.

She showed us marks where the climate change sign had been. "The sign lived here happily for almost eight or nine years, and then the sign was taken down a couple weeks ago – ripped off," she said.  

Another sign at Muir Woods was changed to conform with a Department of the Interior directive to remove exhibits that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living." Originally, the signs had simply added more names to the timeline of the park's development beyond just those who'd donated the land.