April 17, 2025—Harmful and regressive measures continue to unfold at the national level, and the Los Angeles Conservancy opposes the ongoing dismantling of federal preservation programs, incentives, and essential services and staffing that support historic places and communities. From libraries and museums to national parks to federally owned historic buildings to critical housing programs, all are being undermined and destabilized.

Not only are these actions causing uncertainty, but they are also placing people and places at imminent risk through the loss of funding, through the elimination of longstanding policies and environmental protections, and intentionally deleting and erasing important layers of histories that impart our full contributions and stories.

We cannot go backward or repress what preservation and the L.A. Conservancy is fundamentally rooted in: community, storytelling, place-keeping, sustainability, inclusion, and culture.

Today, and always, the Conservancy stands by our core values as an organization and encourages others to do the same, reiterating that L.A. County’s greatest strengths and resources are our people, places and spaces, and culture. They matter and must be acknowledged.

Historic places stand as symbols of our common heritage and resilience. They inspire us to raise our voices and remind us that generations of Angelenos have faced similar challenges and found new ways to grow stronger together.

If history and historic places have taught us anything, it is the power of people collectively coming together to speak the truth that makes a difference. We cannot forget this and the important work we are here to do.

The Los Angeles Conservancy is confident we will find our way forward, building on our resolve, connection, and mutual support. Our collective stories and associated historic places deserve nothing less.

On behalf of all of us at the Los Angeles Conservancy, thank you for being a part of our community.

NPR, April 3, 2025
Cultural groups across U.S. told that federal humanities grants are terminated
Millions of dollars in previously awarded federal grants intended for arts and cultural groups across the country are being canceled by the Trump administration…

School Library Journal, April 3, 2025
In Latest Moves, Trump Administration Cancels IMLS Grants, Threatens Title I Funding
On Friday, April 4, attorneys general from 20 states filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to stop the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as well as the Minority Business Development Agency and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The lawsuit states, “The sudden halting of the agencies’ work after decades of close cooperation will immediately put at risk hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding on which the States depend, and undermine library programs, economic opportunity, and the free flow of commerce throughout the country.”

USA Today, April 1, 2025
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Mass layoffs began Tuesday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at the Food and Drug Administration, the first steps in a plan to cut 10,000 jobs at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Fortune, March 28, 2025
Trump’s latest DEI target: The Smithsonian and its $1 billion annual budget
President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” targets the Smithsonian Institution — which has, he contends, “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.” Critics have pushed back, saying the order is an attempt to whitewash American history.

NPR, March 19, 2025
Here are all the ways people are disappearing from government websites
Across the federal government, agencies have been busy scrubbing photographic and written references about women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community from their websites.

Newsweek, Last updated Mar 14, 2025
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The federal government is undergoing a wave of job cuts across multiple agencies in 2025. Spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), these reductions have impacted many public sector employees, from environmental regulators to defense contractors.

WIRED, March 5, 2025
Here’s a Map of the For-Sale Government Properties the GSA Pulled From Its Website
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New York Times, February 18, 2025
Trump’s Cuts Could Make Parks and Forests More Dangerous, Employees Say
Thousands of employees who helped oversee vast areas of wilderness have lost their jobs in President Trump’s moves to shrink the federal work force.