Under the administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, times are tough for employees of and services offered by the federal government.
The Trump-created and Elon-Musk run Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gutted agency resources under the guise of efficiency and cost savings, but without any data to support their claims.
One agency deeply affected was the National Park Service. NPS is an agency under the Department of the Interior, headed by Trump appointee Doug Burgum who made clear his priority is to exploit public lands for profit, not preservation.
In his confirmation testimony before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Burgum stated America's public lands and waters are part of the country's financial "balance sheet." He advocated extracting as much oil, gas and minerals as possible via mining and drilling in all of the country's public holdings, including national parks.
With their resources slashed and their future uncertain, national parks have had to get creative with their fundraising efforts.
Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park turned to the most logical choice: twerking videos of Grammy-winning rapper and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion. And videos posted by the park on their official TikTok are full of double entendre.
As is their fundraising statement:
"Do you wanna help the National Park Service? Well, good news. Petrified Forest is here to rock your world and yes, the wood is still hard after 200 million years."
"First, grab a National Parks pass for just $80. That pass gets you access to to over 2,000 parks including Petrified Forest, where the wood is so rock solid it’s basically nature’s Viagra."
"Next, head over to nps.gov and sign up to volunteer. Want to donate, nationalparks.org is your go to. Every day keeps the trails smooth, the signs fresh, and the wood, well firm."
One video was captioned:
"Petrified Forest — where our wood is as stiff as our resolve!"
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
Another that featured Megan Thee Stallion was captioned:
"Do you want to help the National Park Service? Keep these ancient logs rock solid by supporting Petrified Forest. Because when the funding gets cut, so does the wood."
Some videos were actually age restricted, making them only visible on TikTok—just click "watch on TikTok" to see it all.
And the videos aim to appeal to all sexualities.
In addition to Megan Thee Stallion, plenty of rock hard men also make an appearance in park promotions.
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
The videos feature lines—some straight from the fundraising statement—like:
"The wood is so rock solid, it’s basically nature’s Viagra."
"Petrified Forest is here to rock your world… and yes, the wood is still hard after 200 million years."
"Every bit helps keep Petrified Forest standing tall and rock hard… and really, who doesn’t love a good, firm piece of wood?"
Most of the videos end with information about the park's $80 annual pass, which gives visitors access to millions of years of history.
While some may disapprove of using sex to sell park passes, people on TikTok are appreciating the humor.
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
@petrifiedforestnatpark/TikTok
No word yet on whether twerking videos and thirst traps are effective forms of fundraising. But they do certainly brighten many people's timelines.
Hey Petrified Forest, keep up the hard work—all puns intended.
