NPCA submitted the following positions to members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks ahead of a hearing scheduled for December 9, 2025.
S. 446 - To prohibit Big Cypress National Preserve from being designated as wilderness: NPCA opposes this legislation which would prevent the National Park Service (NPS) from carrying out well-established mandates in accordance with the Wilderness Act and longstanding policy. NPCA views wilderness as a valuable conservation tool for protecting some of the most sensitive areas for imperiled wildlife and habitats. We believe the habitat conservation situation in Big Cypress has become dire, and that designating parts of the preserve as wilderness is one of the pathways to better protect the preserve’s threatened habitat and wildlife. Oil and gas operations and rampant off-road vehicle use have wreaked havoc across the preserve and threatened its rare species and rich biodiversity.
However, NPCA does not and would not support any potential wilderness designation that violates the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida or Seminole Tribe of Florida’s rights to access and live in the Preserve. Tribal rights to customary and traditional use and access are established in the enabling legislation that founded Big Cypress and must be upheld. We have a deep and abiding respect for both Tribal Nations and the unique cultural connection they have with this land. NPS can and should continue its work with the Tribes through meaningful government-to-government consultation to honor Tribal interests. Any potential wilderness designation must protect Big Cypress’ ecosystems while simultaneously protecting Tribal rights and access to the land they have stewarded for generations. NPCA is committed to working together to find and apply conservation tools and solutions to protect Big Cypress.
S. 573 - To designate a mountain in the State of Alaska as Denali: NPCA supports this legislation to designate a mountain in the state of Alaska as Denali. The name “Denali” stems from “deenaalee,” which is from the Koyukon language traditionally spoken by some Alaska Natives on the north side of Denali National Park. It is a recognition of the historical place of indigenous people in the Alaska landscape and is also in line with the state of Alaska’s request, first made in 1975, to name the mountain Denali.
S. 791 - Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site Establishment Act: NPCA supports this legislation, which would establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site as an affiliated area of the National Park Service and preserve a nationally significant landmark, PS 103 in West Baltimore, that shaped one of our country’s most influential civil rights leaders.
S. 1131 - Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act: NPCA supports establishing the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve in the State of Georgia to conserve both cultural and historical resources, as well as wildlife and hunting lands within the Ocmulgee River Corridor between the cities of Macon and Hawkinsville. We also support additional opportunities for Tribal participation in co-stewardship of cultural and natural resources. As this bill moves forward to markup, we look forward to working with the committee to ensure Congress maximizes the opportunity at Ocmulgee, including protecting additional areas in Twiggs and Houston Counties identified as nationally significant in the special resource study and aligning with and safeguarding the Robins Air Force Base Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program boundary.
S. 1777 – 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. NPCA also supports the provision that renames the Cottonwood Visitor Center to recognize 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.
S. 1870 - Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act: NPCA supports this legislation, which would expand the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley, an area rich in both natural and cultural resources, including critical wildlife corridors, waterways and landscapes worthy of inclusion in our National Park System. With more than 17 million people, the Los Angeles Metropolitan area is the second most populous region of the country; yet it has less open space per capita than all other large cities on the west coast. This legislation is an opportunity to better protect and manage some of the region’s last wild lands and open spaces including habitat for threatened species ranging from the mountain lions to the red legged frogs and historic sites that will allow the National Park Service to tell the story of Los Angeles’s rich history. The expanded presence of the National Park Service will facilitate new partnerships with schools, local governments and community-based organizations, expand agency-led interpretive programs, connect more youth and families to the outdoors, and build a new generation of park enthusiasts while having no impact on local private property rights or land use authorities.
S. 2270 - Myakka Wild and Scenic River Act: NPCA supports this legislation, which would designate for the Myakka River as a part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. This will help bolster conservation and recognition of an important ecosystem with direct connectivity to the Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area. For decades, NPCA has championed conservation of the Greater Everglades ecosystem and recognizes that advancing protections for upstream waters benefits the broader ecosystem.
S. 2308 - Protecting America’s Treasures by Raising Inflow from Overseas Tourists Parks Act (PATRIOT) Parks Act: Entrance and recreation fees are vital to keeping national parks running, funding everything from trail repairs and educational programs to law enforcement and visitor services. While NPCA supports new and innovative ideas to fund maintenance projects in our national parks and charging international visitors more is not uncommon globally, this legislation authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to collect a surcharge from international visitors to the National Park System is unnecessary. The administration issued new fees for non-residents to begin on January 1, 2026. NPCA has raised concerns with the Secretary of the Interior regarding the implementation of non-resident fees and their potential impact on public access to our nation’s treasured parks and lands. We welcome working with the bill sponsor to understand the administration’s new policy to ensure these new fees don’t become a barrier that keeps people from experiencing America’s most iconic places.
S. 2385 - Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History Act: NPCA opposes this legislation, which would make it illegal for the National Park Service or the Smithsonian to interpret our history in ways that are accurate, honest, and inclusive. Outlawing the study of slavery, civil rights and race will make our parks, our museums and our country less aware of our history and how the past continues to exert an influence over present times.
S. 2708 - Appalachian Trail Centennial Act: NPCA continues to have reservations about this legislation which statutorily allows for the establishment of one or more “Designated Operating Partner” to serve as the primary non-profit organization for each national trail and further recognizes Appalachian Trail Conservancy as the first. The national trails are administered by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the land management agencies. The federal government currently enters into cooperative agreements with States, landowners, private organizations, individuals and other non-federal partners to operate, develop and maintain any portion of a national trail. These partnerships are necessary and integral to the preservation, maintenance and operation of the national trails and associated facilities. While we do appreciate allowing one or more designated partner, we continue to have reservations about how this legislation impacts the role of other partners. In addition, to ensure public participation and transparency in decision-making by the Designated Operational Partner, we ask bill sponsors to remove the exemption in the bill from the Federal Advisory Committee requirements (Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code).
S. 2970 - To authorize the use of off-highway vehicles in certain areas of the Capitol Reef National Park: NPCA opposes this legislation, which would strip the National Park Service’s ability to fully manage Capitol Reef National Park’s roads by opening them to off-road vehicles. OHVs are built for travelling off-road, have more aggressive tire treads that cause greater wear on backcountry roads, lead to more dust and erosion, and far exceed the Park Service’s standards for noise, especially as they often travel in groups. OHVs would denigrate the very resources Capitol Reef has been set aside to protect, with impacts on wildlife, endangered species, and the visitor experience. Adding off-road vehicles to both the busiest paved roads, in addition to the most remote backcountry routes, would ruin the unique and increasingly rare experience of desert solitude and natural quiet that visitors travel to Capitol Reef to experience. Substantial opportunities for OHV use, both on and off road exist on Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, and the many other public lands in Utah not managed by the National Park Service. A national park setting is not appropriate or required for OHV use, yet Capitol Reef is just the tip of the iceberg if this is what is to come for national parks across the country.
