Washington, DC — As current national policy directs a drive for more domestic development of strategic minerals, our national parks may be targeted for many more mining operations, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Although filing of new mining claims on parklands has been barred by law for nearly 50 years, there are more than one-thousand valid pre-existing claims within national park units.

National Park Service (NPS) records obtained by PEER under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that 1,067 mining claims exist within 15 areas of the national park system. These claims exist in all but four western states (Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and New Mexico). The Pacific West Region has the most with 645 claims, mainly within Death Valley National Park and Mojave National Preserve. The Alaska Region follows with 402 claims, three quarters of which are in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (310 claims) – the largest NPS unit.

These claims include 635 unpatented claims and 432 patented claims. Patented claims are fully private property, confirmed by a “patent” – a title – from the Interior Department to the claim.

“The almost forgotten mining legacy on what are now national park lands may leap back to life in a national drive to extract strategic minerals,” stated PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse, noting that only 35 such claims have been retired during the past decade. “The prospects for mining in national parks will not be quickly or inexpensively diminished.”

In one of his recent Executive Orders, President Trump has directed steps to increase domestic mining. That Order designated Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to identify sites for increased mineral extraction. In an April 8, 2025 announcement, Interior’s Bureau of Land Management announced an Australian mining concern had been given the go-ahead to continue mining operations in the Mojave National Preserve, which contains more than 40 percent of all claims in the park system (422 out of 1067). However, NPS has yet to receive, let alone approve, a new mining plan for this operation, called the Colosseum Mine, as required by law.

“Since there is currently no National Park Service Director, or even a nominee, there is likely no official parks representative at the table urging protection of park resources,” added Whitehouse, pointing out that Secretary Burgum has no prior national park experience or background. “What is now unfolding at this one mine in Mojave may be repeated several hundred more times in the coming days.”

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Examine mining possibilities in the national parks

Look at list of all valid mining claims on national parks

See spreadsheet with site-by-site breakdown

View Trump Executive Order on increasing mineral production

Read BLM announcement on the Colosseum Mine in Mojave Preserve