"The Senate Appropriations Committee is sending a clear message: our parks and the people who steward them are not expendable." - John Garder, NPCA's Senior Director of Budget and Appropriations
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a bipartisan vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved its Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, sending a strong message of support for America’s national parks at a time of mounting challenges. The bill includes flat funding for the operation of the National Park System, rejecting dramatic cuts proposed by both the Trump administration and House of Representatives. Instead, it holds funding steady to support staffing, operations and public access across the Park System. The bill also includes key provisions to hire urgently needed Park Service staff, helping restore the agency’s capacity to protect our parks.
For months, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been sounding the alarm about the mounting staffing crisis at the Park Service. Since January, the Park Service has lost a quarter of its permanent workforce. With parks struggling to keep gates open and basic services running, visitor centers are scaling back hours, critical maintenance and research is being delayed, and the long-term protection of America’s most iconic landscapes and cultural resources is hanging in the balance.
In May, the administration proposed slashing over $1 billion from the Park Service budget, the largest cut in the agency’s 109-year history. As part of a broader push to get rid of park units, the administration’s plan threatens to wipe out funding and staffing for at least 350 national parks. And while the House Appropriations Committee’s funding bill rejected the administration’s most outrageous provisions, it would still cut $176 million (more than 6%) from the Park Service’s operations budget, threatening thousands of seasonal and permanent positions critical to park operations.
By contrast, the Senate Committee’s bill retains the Park Service’s operating budget, maintaining support for park rangers, biologists, cultural resource experts and visitor services staff who are being stretched to the limit. The bill also includes several provisions forcefully rejecting the administration’s actions undermining national parks and their staff.
Additional park provisions included in the bill:
- Requires the administration to hire and retain sufficient park service staff to perform the agency’s mission to protect irreplaceable resources and ensure visitor enjoyment and safety.
- Forces the administration to give Congress notice of any significant reorganization efforts, as a potential Reduction in Force could decimate park service staffing even further.
- Blocks the administration’s attempts to deauthorize, sell off or transfer units of the National Park System.
- Rejects the administration’s efforts to divert money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund intended for conservation purposes.
- Requires notification to Congress of any future efforts to cancel National Park Service leases.
- Forces the timely delivery of grant funds for tribal and other community-driven efforts to protect and interpret historic resources.
The Committee’s funding bill now awaits full chamber consideration, with the October 1 fiscal deadline approaching.
Below is a statement from John Garder, Senior Director of Budget and Appropriations for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA):
“This bill is exactly the kind of bipartisan leadership our national parks need right now. As the Trump administration pushes to slash funding, delay preservation efforts and undermine critical park operations, the Senate Appropriations Committee is sending a clear message: our parks and the people who steward them are not expendable.
“NPCA and park advocates across the country have been raising the alarm for months, and the Committee clearly listened. This bill is a necessary rejection of the Trump administration’s reckless actions that have undermined Park Service staff and the well-being of our parks for months, including a proposal to slash park funding by $1 billion. These cuts would have decimated the national parks as we know them. Instead, the Senate Committee’s bill would keep all 433 park units open, ensure rangers and staff stay on the ground, and protect the public’s access to places that define who we are as a nation.
“It’s encouraging to see members of the Committee, on both sides of the aisle, recognize the value of our national parks. We urge the full Senate and House to follow their lead and advance this bill to ensure parks remain safe, accessible and well cared for now and for future generations.”
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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.6 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org
