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Thousands of New Mexicans visit national parks each year and some were unhappy when they saw the 2026 laminated park pass includes pictures of Presidents Donald Trump and George Washington, so artist Jenny McCarty stepped in.

McCarty, a watercolor artist and co-owner of Sage Leaf Studio in Colorado, said she was "fired up" the pass seemed to be celebrating politicians and not the parks themselves. McCarty has used her artistic skills to create stickers of a wolf in Grand Teton National Park, a grizzly bear in Denali and a pica found in Rocky Mountain National Park, which stick neatly over the existing images.

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She argued parks should not be a partisan issue.

"National parks are our greatest treasure here in our nation, and we want to ensure that exists for generations," McCarty emphasized. "It has nothing to do with the current political party that is sitting in the White House."

All proceeds from McCarty's stickers go to the National Park Foundation and the National Parks Conservation Association. In previous years, administrations adhered to a law requiring an annual competition to select an image to be used on the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. The Trump administration bypassed the law, saying the presidential portraits on this year's passes are justified to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday in July.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office, national parks have faced renewed threats from drastic budget cuts, severe staff reductions and the potential opening of certain park lands to drilling and mining. McCarty explained her artistic contribution is meant to recapture the beauty of the parks and celebrate the arts. A national parks visitor since childhood, she had planned to offer just one design but her friends and family liked all three.

"Like many people, I was really disappointed in the 2026 design when it was released," McCarty recounted. "So I asked my community, 'Like, if I was to actually come up with a design is that something you'd be interested in?' And, I got a resounding 'yes' from people."

The Trump administration has raised park fees for international park visitors this year and ended free admission on Martin Luther King Junior Day and Juneteenth, while making Trump’s birthday a free day instead.