For those unaware, America the Beautiful National Parks passes received a redesign that upset many visitors. Instead of award-winning park photography, the card design now features President George Washington’s portrait and a headshot of President Donald Trump.
Back in December, artists had already responded with stickers meant to cover the design without covering pertinent information. However, that workaround has since run into trouble. A new policy announcement warned that covering the card could invalidate it, leading people to search for another option.
Updated card design and policy changes
An internal email sent to National Park Service staff outlined how altered passes should be handled. The message, written by department business specialists Allison Christofis and Jeff Beauchamp, was later shared with SFGATE by an anonymous employee.
“Defacing the pass in any way, including writing on it or adding stickers or other coverings, is a form of altering the pass,” the policy read. It also explained that alterations could hide security features needed to prevent fraud.
Elizabeth Peace, who is a senior public affairs specialist with the Interior Department, expanded on the change in an email to SFGATE. “[The changes] provided additional clarification to help avoid confusion and support visitor interactions due to the volume of questions received from staff and visitors,” she said.
The new policy guidance left room for discretion, however, meaning that staff members could decide whether to accept an altered pass if security features remained visible. These security features include a mountain-shaped foil hologram, microtext, and the word “interagency” printed in invisible ink.
An artist’s solution to the change
TikToker Mitchell Bowen (@recollection_project) proposed a different approach. Bowen, known for designing vintage-style travel posters for every U.S. state, introduced a transparent sleeve for park passes with a painting design that covers the presidents’ images.
Instead of adhering to the card directly, the sleeve slips over it, concealing the Trump portrait without violating policy. Bowen shared the idea in a TikTok that quickly gained attention, with over 99K views and 17.3K likes.
“I have a solution for these new National Park passes if you still want yours to feature a beautiful National Park design,” he said in the video. He added that the sleeves were available on his website and that part of the proceeds went to the National Park Foundation.
The video caption explained the intent in detail. “After recent announcements that stickers can invalidate park passes, I designed this transparent Parks Pass Sleeve as a safe way to personalize and protect your pass while keeping it fully accessible and valid,” Bowen wrote. The sleeve featured hand-drawn artwork celebrating the American bison and the country’s parks.
@recollection_project Protect and Customize your America the Beautiful National Parks Pass—without risking its validity 🦬 After recent announcements that stickers can invalidate park passes, I designed this transparent Parks Pass Sleeve as a safe way to personalize and protect your pass while keeping it fully accessible and valid. Featuring a hand-illustrated design celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the home of some of the most incredible National Parks and the American Bison, our national mammal, it’s a practical accessory made for park lovers and adventurers alike. Guaranteed to fit official National Parks Passes • Sturdy & protective • Free shipping securely to you A perfect gift for anyone chasing America’s wild places. Check it out at the link in my bio: recollection-project.com #americathebeautiful #nationalparks #travel ♬ original sound – mitchell_bowen
Later, viewers flooded the comments with praise. “THAT’S the new card?!? Thank you for your service,” one person wrote. Another commented, “The resistance can be subtle. Great job!” A third added, “I love that your version is actually compliant with the standard, featuring a real National Park.”
In an email to the Daily Dot, Mitchell Bowen explained the reasoning behind the product: “The United States is home to some truly incredible parks and wild spaces. I hope to share their beauty while helping protect them through awareness and contributions toward their preservation.”
He also spoke to the viral rise of his idea, saying, “Thank you to everyone for all of the kind words and support for my work on the new National Park Pass sleeves.”
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