NPCA submitted the following positions to members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ahead of a business meeting scheduled for June 10, 2026.
Barrasso Amendment #1c to S. 140 – Wildfire Prevention Act of 2025: NPCA opposes this amendment, which would nullify the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, (i.e. the roadless rule), a widely supported management tool that has maintained the integrity of key ecosystems on more than 45 million acres of national forestland while allowing timber management to prevent wildfire for nearly a quarter century. NPCA supports the Wyden/Cantwell Amendment to Barrasso amendment #1c, which would remove the roadless rule provision.
The rule was finalized in 2001 after years of tremendous public outreach and overwhelming support. Undoing this commonsense rule would pave a pathway towards increased oil and gas leasing, mining, industrial logging and other harmful development on public lands that provide clean water, wildlife habitat and protect the connected ecosystems of nearby national parks. National park gateway economies and recreation communities rely on mixed-use public lands. Roadless areas protect access and opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, and other forms of motorized and non-motorized recreation, along with grazing for ranchers.
The health of many of America’s national park sites rely on the ecosystems that surround them, including intact national forests. An NPCA analysis found that of the approximately 45 million acres of designated roadless areas in national forests, nearly 30% (17.5 million acres) are within 30 miles of national park lands. Roadless areas in America’s national forests support wildlife and plant biodiversity, viewsheds and soundscapes, and climate resilience, as well as air and water quality. Wildlife ranging from bears and elk to salmon and songbirds rely on connected and roadless landscapes and waterways for habitat, food and shelter as they travel within and outside of park boundaries. For instance, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, managed by the National Park Service, crosses fourteen states and through several roadless areas that support recreation opportunities from Georgia to Maine. Roadless areas within the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems provide habitat connectivity between parks and forest lands and are critical to the long-term success of grizzly bears and other wildlife populations. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska has the greatest concentration of roadless areas within 30 miles of its boundaries at more than 785,000 acres. The roadless areas within this region support healthy old-growth forests that stretch to the edge of the Gulf of Alaska, supporting the landscape as well as healthy fish populations and clean watersheds.
S. 1288 - Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Act: NPCA supports this legislation to establish the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Act, which would enhance the ability of 14 counties in New York State to interpret, manage and preserve their cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic resources for the benefit, enjoyment and inspiration of the public. National Heritage Areas (NHA) are prime examples of the efficacy of public-private partnerships and community empowerment in action. While NPCA supports this bill, we do so with the caveat that the designation of new national heritage areas must be accompanied by a corresponding increase to the NHA budget and the retention of sufficient NPS staff to effectively manage the NHA system.
