‘North Rim Grand Canyon Cape Royal’ [Shutterstock]

The National Park Service is opening the door to corporate sponsorship by expanding the definition of philanthropy.

Corporate sponsors won’t be able to place advertising or marketing slogans at the 411 national parks, but they will be allowed to prominently display their logos and gain naming rights for some features in return for their gifts, reported the Washington Post.

Proposed new rules — which are set to go into effect later this year — will allow corporations to design and build park buildings and operate them over the long term, and some donors will be granted naming rights to park programs, positions and endowments.

[…]

The new rules for park managers include a shift away from protecting environmental resources toward fundraising.

“Does that become a major part of the job?” said John Garder, budget and appropriations director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “Can the park service say, ‘This person’s doing an awesome job protecting bison, but they’re not raising enough money?’”

Full Story Here. Every day, I get the feeling that a huge sign has been put out, ‘AmericaLand Park! A fine example of how to fuck up a country.’