Spread out across the United States are our 59 national parks. They include some of America’s most beloved tourist attractions–like Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Denali. But our parks aren’t picture perfect. They cost a lot of money to keep open, and to keep in good shape. So, the National Park Service may be turning to the private sector for help–it’s considering a plan to sell corporate sponsorships to companies.

The National Park Service would use these corporate sponsorships to pay for $11 billion in maintenance works that have become backlogged. Another motivation for accepting corporate money would be to make the parks more attractive to young people, although it’s unclear exactly ow that work work. It’s also unclear exactly what a “corporate sponsorship” would entail, given that the plan is still under consideration. While the National Park Service director has said that naming rights would not be allowed, according to the National Parks Traveler one of the changes could be:

Letting individual parks decide how to recognize donations, with restrictions against no implication of NPS endorsement, official sponsorship of the park, or naming rights. Whereas the existing guidelines prohibit donor recognition on vehicles, bricks, benches, or other park furnishings or buildings, the proposed revisions would allow recognition on vehicles if the vehicle was the donation, and would allow recognition on bricks, walkways, benches, and landscaped areas.

Understandably, a lot of people who are upset with the heavy influence that corporations already have on our lives–mainly in the form of advertising–have expressed their concerns over these kinds of sponsorships. A petition, launched by Public Citizen, has garnered over 200,000 signatures of people who are against these proposed changes. A letter written by Public Citizen outlines the reasons why the non-profit advocacy organization is opposed to the potential for corporate sponsorships in national parks, including the fact that:

Citizens are constantly bombarded with aggressive corporate advertising and influence everywhere they go; our national parks should provide a space for people to escape corporate clutter, a haven from a world where everything seems to be for sale.

While it’s understandable that the idea of our parks having any sort of corporate connection could be uncomfortable, the amount of money needed to keep them up to par isn’t grown on the trees of the Redwood Forests. Fear of corporate influence is founded, but now it’s up to the National Park Service to decide if it should even implement this kind of funding.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post America’s National Parks: Now Brought to You by Corporate Sponsors? appeared first on Law Street.

Welcome to the RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through the top five controversial and crazy stories in the world of law and policy each day. So who is ranting and who is raving today? Check it out below:

J-Law v. D-Trump

Actress Jennifer Lawrence has some harsh words for Donald Trump. She told “The Graham Norton Show” that she recently found out that they were both at the same concert. She told the hosts she wanted to track Trump down and yell at him, saying: “I had my full security, like, I was like, ‘Find Donald Trump.’ ‘Cause I was just, I was adamant on finding him and then making a video of me going, ‘Hey Trump, f— you!'”

via GIPHY

Nevada Primary Problems Continue

The Bernie Sanders campaign and its supporters continue to fight with the Democratic party in Nevada over the results of the primary. Sanders supporters claim that the primary is unfair, but other Democrats say that death threats some of his supporters have sent to party officials went way too far. Here’s a good explainer from Vox on exactly why so many people are really pissed.

A Tasty Way to Protest Voter ID Laws

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield–also known as Ben & Jerry–are getting involved in politics again. The company is releasing a new flavor, called Empower Mint, to protest voter ID laws in North Carolina. Greenfield said:

The reason Ben & Jerry’s chose North Carolina is there’s a lot of activity in terms of voter rights and overcoming voter suppression efforts there. There’s also a real history of civil right struggle in North Carolina. For us, it’s about the groups doing work there.

Introducing Empower Mint. Creamy mint & fudgy brownies & churned for a cause: Democracy. https://t.co/tHL8tdRaodpic.twitter.com/RKs2yTQOwd

— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) May 17, 2016

Remember to Close Your Tabs

Mike Webb, who is running for Congress in Virginia, shared a screenshot of his computer on his Facebook page. However, he had forgotten to close out of a couple tabs that were clearly searches for porn.

Mike Webb, He’s looking at adult women, that’s a refreshing change. pic.twitter.com/SKKN3qiJfC

— Thomas Delmore (@IronFist1982) May 17, 2016

His excuse for why he had tabs of porn open? He claims he was “testing them for viruses.” Sure, Mike Webb, and we were all born yesterday. 

Seriously Guys, Leave Wild Animals Alone

Yellowstone baby bison euthanized after bonehead tourists thought they were saving it: https://t.co/l5vWgqDJc7 pic.twitter.com/Egsz6wg78R

— Slate (@Slate) May 18, 2016

People are smad (sad and mad) after a story about a couple visiting Yellowstone who saw a baby bison by itself. They thought it would be cold–despite the fact that bison are animals that live outdoors–so they put it in their SUV. Rangers tried to reunite the animal with its herd, but it was rejected. Unfortunately, the calf had to be euthanized because it couldn’t be cared for by the rangers, and couldn’t be sent somewhere else for care due to a quarantine in effect to prevent the spread of tuberculosis.

Rant Crush

RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

The post RantCrush Top 5: May 18, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.