NPCA submitted the following positions to member of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands ahead of a hearing scheduled for December 11, 2025.
H.R. 5729 - North Rim Restoration Act of 2025: NPCA supports efforts by Congress and the National Park Service to rebuild facilities after the devastating Dragon Bravo Fire, which caused permanent damage to the Grand Canyon Lodge and surrounding buildings, including historic cabins, as well as other structures on the North Rim of the park. Rebuilding must be done in a way to preserve as much of the existing structures and salvageable materials as possible while taking care to match the historical nature in new construction and that it is done in an environmentally responsible manner.
H.R. 6365 - Wintergreen Emergency Egress Act: NPCA opposes this legislation, which would require the Secretary of the Interior to allow an exit road from the Wintergreen Resort to be built across a wooded section of the Blue Ridge Parkway known for its diversity of plants and animals. The Blue Ridge Parkway, the most visited national park in the country, is composed of stunning vistas and rolling mountains with a winding road that links Shenandoah National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The parkway generates more than $1.2B annually in economic benefit. Protection of views is critical to the visitor experience and has been protected since 1934 when the Parkway was established. Building a road through this national park would decimate the park’s woodlands and open up the area to invasive species. A road would disrupt wildlife corridors and degrade the park viewshed.
Past efforts to build a road through this national park have been rejected and the National Park Service previously outlined a process where should an emergency arise, an emergency gate could be opened allowing residents to leave Wintergreen onto the Parkway. This proposal was rejected by Wintergreen developers. With the current and ongoing decline in staffing, Parkway staff would be hard pressed to manage such a crossing. If an emergency exit is required for Wintergreen development, it should be built outside of park lands.
H.R. 6380 - Chiricahua National Park Act: NPCA supports this legislation, which would redesignate Chiricahua National Monument as Chiricahua National Park. Visitors to Chiricahua National Monument experience a “wonderland of rocks,” whether they stop at viewpoints to overlook the vast fields of rock pinnacles or walk on trails that wind through these amazing formations. The monument protects beautiful forests and wildlife, and the history of the Apache and other Native American Tribes as well as the well-preserved Faraway Ranch demonstrates the many layers of history that the monument holds. It is also an important landscape within the unique Sky Island ecosystem of southeastern Arizona. Cochise County and many nearby towns and Chambers of Commerce support elevating its status to Chiricahua National Park. In addition to supporting this legislation, we urge the committee to support the restoration of park funding and staffing to ensure that America’s newest National Park can support its visitors and resources.
