Because the Trump administration ramps up efforts to erase LGBTQ+ voices and communities of shade from the historic narrative, Yosemite Nationwide Park has terminated the employment of a park ranger after they displayed a transgender pleasure flag on a landmark rock formation throughout their off-duty hours.
Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a ranger and wildlife biologist who has been working on the park since 2021, stated they have been fired from their “dream job” on August 12 in an Instagram put up. In accordance with Joslin, Non permanent Deputy Superintendent Ray McPadden of the Nationwide Park Service (NPS) instructed them that that they had “[failed] to demonstrate acceptable conduct” after they hung the Trans Satisfaction flag on the face of the granite monolith El Capitan.
“The messages my termination send out to the public is that if you have an identity that has been turned into a ‘ideology’ not in line with the current administration, your rights will be different than other Americans that fall into the ‘ideal standard’ for who and what a person should be, look like, and believe in,” Joslin instructed Hyperallergic.
An NPS spokesperson instructed Hyperallergic in an announcement that the company is “pursuing administrative action against multiple employees for failing to follow National Park Service regulations.” They declined to touch upon the specifics of Joslin’s case.
“We want to emphasize that we take the protection of the park’s resources and the experience of our visitors very seriously, and will not tolerate violations of laws and regulations that impact those resources and experiences,” the spokesperson stated, alleging that “several unauthorized demonstrations involving El Capitan” final 12 months had drawn complaints from guests.
SJ with the flag on the face of El Capitan in Yosemite (picture courtesy SJ Joslin)
Joslin acknowledged that they displayed the flag for about two hours on Could 20 throughout their off-duty hours, and famous that Yosemite rules didn’t ban the hanging of flags on the time. The next day, nevertheless, the NPS seems to have up to date the park’s guidelines to ban the show of “any banner, flag, or sign larger than fifteen square feet” on any pure or cultural options with out a allow, citing the necessity to “provide for an unimpaired visitor experience” and “protect natural and cultural resources.”
Whereas the brand new model of the compendium with the ban is dated Could 20, the signature from the park’s appearing superintendent, Raymond McPadden, is dated Could 21, 2025. Earlier variations of the compendium, accessed by Hyperallergic by way of the Wayback Machine, didn’t point out flags or banners.
Hanging flags on the well-known vertical wall of El Capitan is a convention that many climbers have lengthy participated in. In February, park staff flew an inverted United States flag over the aspect of the monolith’s cliff to protest the Trump administration’s cuts to the Nationwide Park Service. Final June, climbers hung a banner that learn “Stop the Genocide” to decry the US-backed Israeli navy’s assault on Palestine.
The NPS’s termination of Joslin’s employment comes amid the Trump administration’s ongoing assaults on LGBTQ+ rights and visibility. In February, the nationwide parks company expunged all references to trans and queer individuals from its web site describing the 1969 Stonewall Rebel. The erasure then prolonged to mentions of bisexual individuals in Could.
“In my celebration of identity and acceptance, I’ve been disparaged and deemed unacceptable,” Joslin instructed Hyperallergic. “It’s a tragic juxtaposition of how to treat human beings.”
