National Park System: Establishing New Units Page: 2 of 6
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CRS-2
Units of the system generally are managed to preserve resources in their natural or
historical conditions for the benefit of future generations. Thus, hunting, mining, and
other consumptive resource uses generally are not allowed. However, in the laws creating
units, Congress sometimes has specified that some of those uses are allowed.
Today, there are more than 20 different designations for units of the National Park
System, reflecting the diversity of the areas. As of September 28, 2006, there were 58
units called national parks, the so-called "crown jewels" of the System. Other commonly
used titles include national historic sites (78), national monuments (74), national historical
parks (42), national memorials (28), national recreation areas (18), and national preserves
(18). Some classifications (such as national park) are unique to NPS, while others (such
as national recreation area) also are used by other land management agencies.1
Adding Units by Public Law and Presidential Proclamation
National Park System units are created by act of Congress, except that national
monuments also may be added by presidential proclamation. The Antiquities Act of 1906
(16 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) authorizes the President to create national monuments, on land
that is already federally owned or controlled, that contains historic landmarks, historic and
prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest.2 Presidents have
designated about 120 monuments since 1906. Congress has subsequently converted many
of them, such as the Grand Canyon, to national parks. Most monuments are managed by
NPS, with many newer monuments managed by the Bureau of Land Management. (For
more information on national monuments, see CRS Report RS20902, National Monument
Issues, by Carol Hardy Vincent.)
An act of Congress creating a Park System unit may explain the unit's purpose; set
its boundaries; provide specific directions for land acquisition, planning, uses, and
operations; and authorize appropriations for acquisition and development. Bills to create
units generally are within the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Resources and the
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, with appropriations typically
contained in Interior Appropriations Acts. In recent years, Congress sometimes has
enacted free-standing legislation to add units to the National Park System. Congress also
has authorized units as part of omnibus parks and recreation laws containing dozens of
recreation-related measures. Measures sometimes are packaged to facilitate broad
evaluation of an issue and to expedite consideration. Legislation creating a new unit may
be preceded by legislation to authorize an NPS study of the area, as described below.
Provisions of law, together with NPS policies, govern Congress's consideration of
measures to create units of the National Park System. In 1998, Congress amended
existing law pertaining to the creating units (P.L. 105-391) to standardize procedures,
improve the information about potential additions, prioritize areas, focus on outstanding
1 A brief definition for each classification, together with a description of each unit of the System,
is included in U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Office of Public Affairs and
Harpers Ferry Center, The National Parks: Index 2005-2007 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2005).
2 Extensions or establishment of monuments in Wyoming require the authorization of Congress
(16 U.S.C. 431a), and withdrawals in Alaska exceeding 5,000 acres are subject to congressional
approval (16 U.S.C. 3213).
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National Park System: Establishing New Units, report, September 28, 2006; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc810299/m1/2/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.