NPCA submitted the following positions to members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ahead of a business meeting scheduled for March 4, 2026.
S. 2102 – Ralph David Abernathy, Sr., National Historic Site Act: NPCA supports this legislation, which would formally recognize the life, leadership and legacy of Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. in Atlanta’s historic West End neighborhood. As co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and chair of the State Sunday School and Baptist Training Union Congress’ committee on the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Abernathy played a pivotal role in advancing community organizing, voting rights, outlawing segregation, and economic justice across the South and the nation. Creating a national park unit at the church where he pastored would help ensure a fuller, more accurate telling of American history while preserving his enduring impact on the modern Civil Rights Movement.
S. 3527 - Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act: NPCA opposes this legislation, which releases Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Areas (WSA) in Montana. The explicit removal of land protections for these WSAs undermines the conservation legacy of public lands and puts them at risk of development. This bill would set a dangerous precedent that could be used to remove protections for WSAs in areas that are vital to the integrity of national park ecosystems. WSAs are critical conservation tools that offer significant biodiversity and watershed benefits to the larger landscapes they inhabit.
