Action Alert: Appropriations Letter to Oppose Elimination of Funding for NPS Community Assistance Programs
Deadline: TODAY at 3 pm
I know this is a very short turn around request but things are moving quickly in DC and I just received this request. Tomorrow at 10 am Eastern, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies will hold a mark up on the FY26 Appropriations Bill. The mark up notice and agenda can be read here. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Coalition is circulating a sign on letter to the leadership of the House Appropriations Committee to oppose zeroing out funding for the National Park Service Community Assistance Programs, which supports National Heritage Areas, the National Register of Historic Places, the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, Hydropower Assistance Program, and several Congressionally-authorized grants are essential to communities nationwide. They reflect the NPS’s mission to extend the benefits of natural, historic, and cultural resource conservation beyond park boundaries.
These locally focused programs provide vital planning, technical assistance, and funding support to initiatives that improve parks, trails, conservation areas, and historic sites. They help revitalize underutilized spaces, transforming them into dynamic community assets that foster recreation, public health, economic development, and environmental resilience. Many of these projects leverage significant non-federal investment, making them some of the most cost-effective tools the federal government has for strengthening communities.
There as been strong support from rivers and waters groups but the organizers recognize that they need a broad spectrum of support, particularly from tourism, recreation, national heritage areas.
The letter is attached. The letter can be signed here.
How fast are things moving? The House Appropriations Committee released the draft of the Interior Environment and Related Agency Appropriations bill this morning. I expect to have more details on that shortly
Let me know if you have any questions.
