NPCA submitted the following positions to members of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks ahead of a hearing scheduled for May 15, 2024.
S. 2620 - Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act: NPCA supports this legislation which would establish a new park unit bringing several land-based areas of the Chesapeake Bay under the protection of the National Park Service (NPS). This new national park unit would expand public access to the Bay’s shores and waters, bring economic growth to nearby communities, and help the NPS, native Tribes, and Chesapeake watermen interpret thousands of years of impactful history. The protected sites would include the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, The Burtis House, and Whitehall in Annapolis, Maryland, and the North Beach of Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia.
S. 2743 – Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Act: NPCA supports this legislation to establish a new national heritage area in New York with one reservation. Any expansion of the National Heritage Area System must be accompanied by a commensurate increase in funding levels for heritage areas via the NPS Heritage Partnership Preservation program, which remains underfunded.
S. 2784 – to amend the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act: NPCA supports this legislation which would adjust the boundary of the Dayton Aviation National Heritage Area. This modification is necessary to incorporate additional resources into the heritage area’s interpretation and management array.
S. 3534 – Fire Island AIDS Memorial Act: NPCA supports this legislation with the understanding that the memorial will enhance interpretation of the cultural landscape which has long co-existed at this ecologically-sensitive park site. This memorial should highlight the national significance of the AIDS epidemic to educate park visitors while also honoring the memory of those affected by the epidemic.
S. 3542 – Atchafalaya National Heritage Area Boundary Modification Act: NPCA supports this legislation which would allow the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to expand to include portions of Bayou Lafourche. This modification would provide heritage area managers with the opportunity to enhance their interpretive and preservation priorities and services provided to their constituents.
S. 3568 / H.R. 3448 – American Battlefield Protection Program Enhancement Act: NPCA supports this legislation which strengthens the ability to protect and rehabilitate battlefields across the country through the American Battlefield Protection Program managed by NPS. The bill also expands the list of organizations and entities, including tribes, eligible to directly receive American Battlefield Protection Program grants, targets ABPP grants towards priority battlefield protection, enhancement, and restoration projects, and “creates a process for expanding and updating battlefield boundaries.”
S. 4209 – to provide greater regional access to the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument: NPCA supports this legislation which would make Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument more accessible to residents and visitors alike. The bill allows the Park Service to acquire land from willing sellers to facilitate a new entrance to the park on existing roads from Millinocket just south of the monument. The larger vision for Katahdin has included a southern entrance where there are many amenities including lodging, restaurants and retailers. With the opening of a new philanthropically-led visitor center in the monument this summer, this bill is perfectly timed to allow the Park Service to acquire these roads as they plan for increasing visitation.
S. 4216 – Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act: NPCA conditionally supports this legislation to establish the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve in the State of Georgia. NPCA strongly believes that the current Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is worthy of expansion and elevation to National Park status. However, we would like to work with the bill’s sponsors and the Committee on several specific issues in the legislation as written.
Congressional approval of this designation would allow for co-management of a National Park System unit by a historically removed Tribe. At the same time, we acknowledge the lack of inclusion of other Tribes with a connection to this site. Given the significance of this proposed management structure, NPCA urges amendment of this bill to strengthen the Advisory Council (Section 5) by the addition of at least two members to include: 1) the President of the College of the Muscogee Nation – to advise on the training and development of tribal members to fulfill the hiring preference provision of the legislation (Section 4d) – and 2) the Assistant to the Director of the National Park Service, Native American Affairs Liaison –to incorporate high-level agency expertise on emerging co-management practices. NPCA would further urge that one of the Advisory Council seats dedicated to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should similarly reflect high-level agency expertise on emerging co-management practices within the National Wildlife Refuge System.
While the Advisory Council is tasked with producing recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior on the creation of a co-management plan, we believe the bill should have a separate provision for the development of a co-management agreement between applicable tribes and the Park Service. Further, the bill should ensure opportunities for the public and interested organizations to comment on a draft management plan and a co-management agreement before they are finalized. Additionally, we are concerned about the provision in the bill requiring the Park Service to implement cultural resource interpretation at Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge as this approach may not comport with the Park Service’s duties and mission. We are also concerned about the various provisions on military activities including allowing “tactical ground parties” and how this may conflict with visitor experience in the park unit.
S. 4222 – Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act: NPCA supports this legislation which incorporates the Castle Mountains National Monument into the Mojave National Preserve in the California desert. Castle Mountains National Monument is surrounded on three sides by the Mojave National Preserve, and both units of the National Park System share the same budget. Consolidation streamlines management and planning which supports conservation and recreation goals in this region.
S. 4227 – Joshua Tree National Park Expansion Act: NPCA supports this legislation which expands the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park in California, consistent with the findings of the Park Service’s 2016 Boundary Expansion Study. The federal lands to be incorporated are surrounded on three sides by Joshua Tree National Park. Including these lands in Joshua Tree supports conservation and recreation goals in this region.
S. 4228 – to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the “Senator Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center”: NPCA supports this legislation that recognizes the significant, decades-long efforts by Senator Dianne Feinstein to conserve Joshua Tree National Park and the California desert for the benefit of all Americans. Senator Feinstein championed the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 that established Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park and the Mojave National Preserve.
S. 4259 – to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Lahaina National Heritage Area: NPCA supports this legislation which calls for a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of potentially designating the Lahaina National Heritage Area. We also note that the addition of new heritage areas must be accompanied by a commensurate increase in the funding of the National Heritage Area program via the NPS Heritage Partnership Program.
H.R.4984 - D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act: NPCA supports this bill to transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Stadium Campus from the NPS to the General Services Administration, which will collaborate with the District of Columbia to efficiently plan for appropriate uses of the land going forward. We support the requirements detailed in this bill to ensure that there are no adverse impacts to any lands under jurisdiction of the NPS, including surrounding wetlands, as well as improved public water access to the Anacostia River and preservation of the Anacostia River Trail. The Park Service is guided by the Organic Act of 1916 and should remain so. There is no standard for “material degrade” of a National Park System unit, and Congress should not create a lower standard of protection for a park unit.
