Trump 'snitch signs' call drew mostly snark from Arizona park visitors

In March 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which called for the removal of "divisive narratives" from federal sites dedicated to history, including national parks and the Smithsonian museums. This effort has targeted signage and exhibits referring to Native Americans.

The National Park Service posted signs in parks nationwide and in Arizona that asked visitors to report historical information that is "negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features." This effort yielded close to 36,000 public comments from June 4, 2025, to Jan. 14, 2026, including hundreds from visitors to Arizona national parks.

Travelers agree, the only 'negative content' was the ask

The park service released the comments to the public following a lawsuit from a coalition of organizations. An analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found that only 47 comments, representing less than 1% of those submitted, actually flagged "negative" content.

The Arizona Republic reviewed comments submitted from Arizona national parks, finding the vast majority praised park rangers for their work and/or said the parks need more rangers on staff. They also urged the federal government to keep national parks natural and maintain factual historic information, including on Native American history.

There were comments saying that the signs posted in the parks soliciting comments — which detractors branded "snitch signs" — intruded on both free speech and parks' natural beauty. Some comments included political and anti-Trump messages.

And some got silly.

Here's what we found.

Grand Canyon National Park

About 265 of the 35,000 comments that the National Park Service received came from Grand Canyon National Park. These included visitors who shared complaints about the $100 nonresident fee introduced by the Trump administration and water pipeline issues.

While most people expressed support for the park rangers and praised the Canyon's beauty, others offered humorous criticisms. One visitor was upset that Grand Canyon had "no Bigfoot here." Another suggested that the Canyon "Needs to be at least 100% wider to glorify the Founding of our country and to help us forget that the Pueblo and Anasazi were living in the area for 1000's of years before we showed up."

Commenters critical of Trump included that the park "Could use comparison imagery for the volume of the Grand Canyon relative to the size of Trump's ego."

There was even some dark humor, with one visitor criticizing the park's safety messages.

"There were signs warning me about it being hot and that drinking water can keep me alive. I feel disparaged! What if I want to get dizzy, stumble around, vomit, and die a slow horrible death? It’s my RIGHT as an American to die from my poor choices. How dare you try to protect me?"

Saguaro National Park

There were 83 comments submitted from Saguaro National Park, the Tucson park that preserves the namesake giant cacti native to the Sonoran Desert.

Most of the commenters said they felt Saguaro is understaffed and needs more park rangers, and unhappy with the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cuts on the park.

There was a joking complaint about a sign warning people not to touch the saguaros because of their extremely sharp spines: "The sign said that saguaros were spiky but I touched the green part and it was soft, I just find this information unhelpful and not representative of how nice the cacti can be."

Petrified Forest National Park

The park service received 62 comments from Petrified Forest, the park that preserves the fossils of trees and ancestral pueblos. (None expressed disappointment with the park for a lack of tall trees.)

A handful of commenters jokingly flagged a sign near a petroglyph at Puerco Pueblo, describing how the petroglyph interacts with sunlight to mark the summer solstice.

"This is clearly a negative depiction of America because it implies that the Sun doesn't revolve around the United States of America," one comment read. "It is my duty to report this sign because MAGA signs should show that the Sun revolves around America's greatness."

"Warning: This petroglyph information sign promotes a round Earth orbiting the sun," read another comment. "Report to MAGA for immediate flattening!"

Flagstaff area

The park service received a total of 134 comments from visitors of the three Flagstaff area national monuments: 52 from Wupatki, 42 from Walnut Canyon and 40 from Sunset Crater Volcano.

Most commenters stated they appreciated the history that the monuments preserve, though one Walnut Canyon visitor expressed disappointment that they "didn't see a single walnut."

Canyon de Chelly National Monument

The park service received 71 comments from Canyon de Chelly in northeast Arizona, a sacred Navajo site famous for its cliff dwellings, petroglyphs and sandstone spire.

One visitor claimed to have a "Harry Potter" inspired encounter on their visit: "I am reporting on the Snitch Sign. I saw a snitch. It was a small gold ball with wings, and it was flying around erratically. I tried to catch it, but I didn't have my broom."

Chiricahua National Monument

There were 50 comments received from visitors of Chiricahua National Monument, an underrated destination for its sky island mountain ranges and balanced rocks.

Advocates have long pushed for Chiricahua to become a national park, with a few comments suggesting it should receive that designation.

But one visitor had a different take on the otherworldly views at the Southern Arizona monument: "Too many rocks. Overwhelming"