NPCA submitted the following positions to members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ahead of a business meeting scheduled for November 19, 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, help the NPS, Tribes, and Chesapeake watermen interpret thousands of years of impactful history, and bring economic growth to nearby communities. 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 – A bill to amend the Dayton Aviation Heritage Preservation Act of 1992 to adjust the boundary of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: NPCA supports this legislation which would adjust the boundary of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. This modification is necessary to incorporate additional facilities into the park.
S. 3346 – Montana Headwaters Legacy Act: NPCA supports this legislation, which would designate segments of twenty rivers and streams in Montana as wild, scenic or recreational rivers. These designations, many of which are in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, would help ensure that 385 miles of waterways in the state would remain clean for generations to come. These rivers, in addition to being some of the best recreation destinations in the world, are also critical to ecosystem health and help support countless species such as the Yellowstone cutthroat trout.
S. 3534 – Fire Island AIDS Memorial Act: NPCA supports this legislation with the understanding that NPS will have the discretion to select the best location for the Memorial within Fire Island National Seashore, in cooperation with local advocates. 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. 4164 – Cahokia Mounds Mississippian Culture Study Act: NPCA supports this legislation which authorizes a special resource study of the Cahokia Mounds and surrounding lands to consider a federal effort to preserve and interpret the historic, cultural and natural resources associated with the life of the Mississippian Culture. This site is an established Illinois State Historic Site as well as a World Heritage Site. Currently managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, it is the state’s most-visited historic site.
S. 4209 – Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Access Act: NPCA supports this legislation which would make Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument more accessible for visitors. The bill allows the Park Service to acquire land from willing sellers to facilitate a new southern entrance to the monument on existing roads from Millinocket. 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 supports establishing the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve in the State of Georgia and we believe the original land acquisition boundary better achieves the conservation and historic preservation goals of the local communities. We look forward to working with the committee to protect the natural and cultural resources of the Ocmulgee River corridor and enhance Tribal participation.
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 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 – A bill 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 – Lahaina National Heritage Area Act: 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.
S. 4451 – RESERVE Federal Land Act: NPCA supports this legislation which would result in a report that advances ongoing efforts to learn from reservation systems on public lands. As more visitors than ever before enjoy America’s public lands, land management agencies are implementing visitation strategies to provide a quality experience to visitors while protecting resources. This is especially true for the NPS, whose mandate demands the preservation of resources for generations to come. To this end, NPCA strongly supports the implementation of visitor use management systems, such as the timed entry system at Rocky Mountain National Park and the reservation system at Acadia National Park. An increase in social science resources, such as this legislation would produce, is necessary for land managers to ensure that visitor use systems continue forward with the best available information.
S. 4994 – Vicksburg National Military Park Boundary Modification Act: NPCA supports this legislation which calls for the transfer of 3.66 acres of land from the NPS to the State of Mississippi to facilitate the construction of a new visitors center for Vicksburg National Military Park. The new building will be larger and include more modern interpretive displays thus significantly enhancing the visitor experience and public understanding of Vicksburg’s role as a turning point in the American Civil War.
S. 5000 - to prohibit the use of amounts from the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund to implement a certain record of decision: NPCA opposes this legislation, which blocks critical and historic funding mechanisms for implementation of the Long-term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) and the subsequent amendment to the plan (Supplemental EIS and ROD). These plans are key to meeting the mandate in the Grand Canyon Protection Act of 1992 to operate Glen Canyon Dam “to protect, mitigate adverse impacts to, and improve” the cultural, environmental, and recreational resources in the Grand Canyon. This includes funding for high flow experiments, management of both endangered and nonnative fish, the Glen Canyon Dam adaptive management program, and significant scientific research that provides the foundation for decision-making at a critical point in the future of Colorado River management. Implementation of LTEMP and the SEIS and ROD are necessary to protect the fish, wildlife and other natural and cultural resources of national parks impacted by dam operations including but not limited to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park.
S. 5125 – Land Manager Housing and Workforce Improvement Act: NPCA supports this legislation that provides additional authorities for funding and partnerships to the Secretary of the Interior to help address the workforce housing crisis. National park units throughout the country are struggling to provide adequate and affordable housing for their employees because current government provided housing requires major repair and gateway community housing prices have skyrocketed. The NPS maintains over 5,500 employee housing units in 216 park units due to their remote locations. The average age of housing assets is 61 years and the most recent assessment by NPS states that 3,661 (66%) of the housing assets need $383 million in repair. Therefore, in addition to these additional authorities, Congress must invest robust federal funding to address housing needs through annual appropriations bills or a dedicated funding source.
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 the 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.”
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.
