{"id":659974,"date":"2025-12-19T15:55:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gearjunkie.com\/?p=659974"},"modified":"2025-12-19T15:55:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T20:55:24","slug":"senator-lee-amendment-park-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gearjunkie.com\/outdoor\/senator-lee-amendment-park-protections","title":{"rendered":"Alarm Spreads Over Amendment That Could Remove Park Protections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new attempt to safeguard national parks from losing federal protection and oversight is at risk of failure. <\/strong>Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) \u2014 who proposed the sale of up to 3 million acres of public land<\/a> this summer \u2014 introduced an amendment this week that would strip language from an appropriations bill that specifically outlines federal protections of all national park sites, according to park advocates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee’s amendment would remove several sections from a Senate appropriations bill for the Interior Department, which manages the National Park Service (NPS). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those sections was recently added by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley (D), and essentially mandates that national parks must remain federal property. It’s an attempt to buoy park protections as Congress considers more funding cuts to the NPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSenator Lee\u2019s proposal to sell off national park lands is an assault on treasures that belong to every American,” Sen. Merkley told GearJunkie. “I wrote and secured protection for these lands and no cuts to National Park Service operations in the 2026 Interior funding bill with support from both Democrats and Republicans. I\u2019ll keep fighting to pass these special places to the generation to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to GearJunkie, Sen. Lee’s office disagreed with that interpretation: \u201cThe Department of the Interior has no authority to sell national parks, and nothing in this amendment would create such authority,” a spokesperson for Lee’s office said. “This amendment resolves an error that interfered with bills routinely considered by the ENR [Energy and Natural Resource] Committee. Senator Lee opposes the sale of National Parks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions about what error the amendment resolves, or what bills it would interfere with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"rocky<\/a>
Hundreds of protestors gathered at Rocky Mountain National Park in March as part of nationwide protests against President Trump’s cuts to the park service; (photo\/Resistance Rangers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why Is the Language Important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The language added to the Senate appropriations bill is short. It simply states that “the Department of the Interior shall maintain all federal lands designated as a national park unit … as federal lands.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That section of the bill is significant because it functions as a stopgap measure against future attempts to sell off national park units, park advocates told GearJunkie. The Trump administration, which laid off a quarter of NPS’s workforce this year, has suggested an additional $1 billion cut<\/a> to the NPS in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Congress approved a funding cut that steep, it would result in the closure of 350 of the country’s 433 national park sites, the NPCA said. That includes historic monuments, scenic rivers, and other sites maintained by the NPS. This year, both the Trump administration and some Congressional representatives \u2014 like Sen. Lee \u2014 have suggested that some national park sites should be given to individual states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s a slippery slope toward the sell-off of our public lands, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) told GearJunkie. \u201cA vote in favor of Senator Lee\u2019s amendment is a vote to sell America\u2019s national parks. And we won\u2019t stand for it,” Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of NPCA, said. “[National parks] are our legacy. And they are not for sale.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s also an urgent issue because Congress is up against a Jan. 30 funding deadline for the federal government. If they can’t pass funding bills before then, the government could face another shutdown. Congress just took a recess for several weeks, and won’t return until early January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mike