Call to Action: Senate Negotiates FY26 Appropriations Minibus | Lee Introduces Amendment to Allow NPS Sites to Be Sold Off | Deadline for Sign On Letter Opposing NPS RIFs extended
Good Reads: Forest Service Report on 'Unpassable Trails and Unsafe Bridges' | Amtrak's New Gulf Coast Train Line
The last week of a congressional session is always chaotic. Things can move fast and legislation can be brought up unexpectedly. With Congress set to adjourn for the year at the end of this week, we are seeing that play out. This week the Senate has been focused on negotiating on a deal for a 5-bill FY26 funding package. Included in the package are the Labor-HHS, Defense, Transportation-HUD, Interior, Commerce-Justice-Science and it being called the FY26 minibus. Nearly all of these bills have programs or provisions that are important to tourism communities.
Earlier this week in a surprise move, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Chairman of the Energy & Natural Resources Committee, introduced Amendment 3972 that would strike Section 130 of the Interior Appropriations bill and encourage the selling off, transferring and giving away of national park sites. Section 130, which is supported by tourism leaders, would block any effort by the administration to deauthorize, sell off, or transfer units of the National Park System, as well as a prohibition on efforts to divert funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund intended for conservation purposes.
Amendment 3972 is just Sen. Lee’s most recent attempt to establish the framework to sell-off public lands and it poses a very real threat to the National Park System. All National Parks are created through substantial community engagement and congressional designation, it seems unfathomable that National Parks could ever be on the chopping block, but the Department of the Interior has provided amble evidence that it believes these national treasures should be sold off, including:
President Trump’s proposed FY26 budget called for a $1.2 billion budget cut to parks would lead to de-funding at least 350 national park units, which would ultimately lead to their closure.
A previously leaked DOI strategic plan explicitly outlined the closure or transfer of federal sites in addition to “right-sizing” monuments
Interior Secretary Burgum has openly talked about his desire to close and transfer park units. During Congressional hearings this year, Secretary Burgum has indicated that, unless a park unit is considered a “crown jewel” and is revenue generating, it does not deserve protection. “Some of these things that are barely visited, in remote locations, that require all the overhead of federal government…Many of them which have no ability to charge admission, I mean so they are just cost centers, is what they are.” – Secretary Burgum
While the Interior Secretary views most National Parks as “just cost centers” communities all across recognize these sites as extraordinary places that preserve and showcase a community’s natural, historic, or cultural resources. Places like the Montgomery Bus Station, home to the Freedom Rides Museum, that the Trump Administration proposed to sell earlier this year. That Civil Rights history site isn’t just an Alabama story, it is a key part of our national story. In addition, NPS’s annual report Visitor Spending Effects documents that even small sites that do not charge entrance fees, provide a significant economic impact to gateway communities.
Senator Lee has informed leadership that he has secured 51 votes for this amendment. It is critical that Senators hear from their constituents TODAY on how important National Parks and cultural resources are to their state and any effort to sell off the national parks and that doing so would damage the economy of local communities.
Our friends at the National Parks Conservation Association have identified the following Republican Senators, both appropriators and potential park allies, as targets for outreach to kill this amendment:
Tier 1 - Collins (ME) , Graham (SC), Murkowski (AK), McConnell (KY), Boozman (AR), Capito (WV), Britt (AL), Sheehy (MT), Daines (MT), McCormick (PA), Tillis (NC), Hyde-Smith (MS)
Tier 2 - Justice (WV), Banks (ID), Budd (NC), Young (IN), Cotton (AR), Moran (KS), Hagerty (TN), Mullin (OK), Rounds (SD)
Senate Majority Leader Thune has said that he would like bring minibus up for consideration on Thursday but it is unclear if he will be able to clear the roadblocks time. It is important for Senators to hear what the priorities are for this bill as consideration will move quickly. If not this week, then when the Senate returns on January 5, 2026. Talking points are posted below. I’ve linked to the 2024 Visitor Spending Effects report above to allow you to personalize your messaging.
On a related note, the deadline for the sign on letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum calling on him to “to refrain from pursuing additional staffing reductions and instead work closely with Congress and NPS staff to identify sustainable approaches that ensure safe, accessible, and well-managed parks for the millions of visitors who depend on them.” has been extended to noon on Friday, December 19.
Good Reads
The Washington Post: Internal Forest Service report finds ‘unpassable trails, unsafe bridges’. The Forest Service report can also be read here.
The New York Times: Exploring Bayous and Beaches on Amtrak’s New Gulf Coast Train Line