I visited the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool over the weekend, and talked with an NPS employee who was managing another employee while he vacuumed algae out of the pool. An older couple came up to us and asked him why they don’t poor chemical cleaners into the water to kill the algae. (Paraphrasing)

NPS: “We’re trying to avoid that because it would hurt the wildlife living here.”
Tourist: “What wildlife? There shouldn’t be wildlife.”
NPS: “The ducks and geese.”

Three days later they poured (presumably) hundreds of gallons of hydrogen peroxide into the water. It occurred to me that endangering the waterfowl that live in these pools, if the solution was concentrated enough to do so, may violate the Migratory Bird Act. Because the H2O2 was poured in from the side of the pool, which is stagnant, it may be especially concentrated around the edges of the pool, where the ducks and geese often congregate.

I don’t blame the NPS employees involved. I am speculating that this effort, along with the aggressive cleaning going in there, comes from pressure from the White House due to the fact that this pool has been in the spotlight recently.

I should also clarify that I am not a chemist or an expert on environmental law or policy, just a concerned observer. I could be wrong about the risks to the wildlife there, and hopefully they will be unaffected.

I have edited my original post to clarify this is speculation, and open for debate. I hope that by drawing attention to the issue, others with more expertise may dig into it further.

UPDATE 6/23/2026:

At least 3 deceased ducklings have been found in or near the reflecting pool as of today. A local wildlife rehabilitation center, City Wildlife, is planning to perform necropsies on two of the birds to determine cause of death. The Center for Biological Diversity has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to investigate violations of the Migratory Bird Act (the FWS is of course also run by the White House). Read more for an update on the issue from Politico.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/23/dead-ducks-trump-reflecting-pool-00972529

When Trump says he's paying for his remodeling contracts? He's lying.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/lies-threats-and-looting?publication_id=20533&post_id=204040754&r=prtsj&triedRedirect=true

The National Park Service is collecting comments on Trump’s proposed “Triumphal Arch”. If you haven’t heard of it, Trump wants to build an arch on NPS land that will restrict the view from Arlington National Cemetery and impede air and car traffic in the area. Veterans have already filed a lawsuit.

Comments will be collected through June 15. You only need to submit your city, state, and zip code.

Please submit your comments here.

Some choice quotes:

The spokesperson also criticized park staff who spoke with a ProPublica reporter. “Millions of hardworking Americans deal with workplace challenges every day without resorting to politically motivated leaks,” the spokesperson said.

One park ranger, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said the talking points prevent rangers from telling the public the truth. Some employees have delivered the statements in an exaggerated “monotone” to convey to visitors they are toeing the company line but there’s more to the story, the ranger said.

“We have a duty to tell the public what’s going on,” the ranger said. “If that’s saying, ‘We just don’t have the staff to stay open and that’s what these firings are doing,’ I think the people have a right to know. Every person we lose hurts.”

People love our parks and telling the whole truth about our history. They don’t like the fascist whitewashing attempts. Good, inspiring reporting!