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What is the Consolidated Appropriations Act and What Does It Mean for the National Park Service?

What is the Consolidated Appropriations Act?

On December 29, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, a $1.7 trillion federal spending bill that allocates money to different federal agencies through September 30, 2023.

In this spending bill, the National Park Service would receive discretionary appropriations of $3.475 billion for fiscal year 2023 (FY23), which is $210.3 million more than the money allocated to National Park Service the previous year.

Highlights of the Consolidated Appropriations Act

  • The bill provides $68 million to cover the cost of the federal employee pay raise
  • There is an increase of $31.5 million to restore staffing across the park system and $24.6 million to support new parks and critical responsibilities. This includes parks like Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, and Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, as well as adding tribal liaison expertise in central offices and multiple parks.
  • An increase of $6.9 million to construct, lease, and rehabilitate housing at parks where housing is either unaffordable or unavailable in the local community
  • An increase of $40 million across technical and financial assistance programs that includes:
  • $1.5 billion to support recovery from natural disasters at parks, including the flooding at Yellowstone National Park, and disasters at many other parks

How the Consolidated Appropriations Act will support and improve parks

Supporting and empowering a diverse workforce

  • An increase of $6.9 million to construct, lease, and rehabilitate housing at parks where housing is either unaffordable or unavailable in the local community
  • An increase of $31.5 million to restore staffing capacity 
  • An increase of $6.9 million to improve bandwidth and connectivity at parks across the country 
  • Additional funds provided will cover requested increases for central IT costs, law enforcement training, employee mental health and wellness support, Justice40 coordination, the NPS App, and the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names
  • Authority to acquire not more than 20 acres in Frederick County, Maryland, to support the physical space, program initiatives, and workforce development capacity of the Historic Preservation Training Center

Investing in the future of parks

Preserving previously undertold stories

  • Park designations:
    • New Philadelphia National Historical Park established in the state of Illinois as a new national park
    • Pullman National Monument in the state of Illinois redesignated as a national historical park
    • Ukrainian Independence Park designated in Washington, DC
  • Memorial authorizations in Washington, DC:
    • Thomas Paine Memorial
    • National Service Animals Commemorative Work
    • Jean Monnet Commemorative Work
    • Enslaved Voyages Commemorative Work
    • Women Who Worked on the Home Front WWII Commemorative Work
    • National Liberty Memorial (reauthorization)
    • Fallen Journalists Memorial (Area 1 authorization)
  • Expansions of existing parks:
    • Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park expansion adds the Nystrom Elementary School to the park
    • Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield expansion adds 25 acres to the park to protect the site of the first and second battles of Newtonia
    • Ste. Geneviève National Historical Park boundary revision authorizes the acquisition of land for use as the park’s visitor center
    • Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park boundary adjustment authorizes the addition of 166 acres which includes Fort Brown
    • Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument boundary adjustment adds 97 acres to the park
    • Cane River Creole National Historical Park Boundary Modification adds 46 acres including part of the historic Magnolia Plantation, previously owned by descendants of the original plantation owners
  • Studies for potential new parks:
    • John P. Parker House in Ripley, Ohio, home of an Underground Railroad conductor
    • Sites of lynchings within 100 miles of Memphis, Tennessee
    • Los Angeles Coastal Area, California
    • Dearfield, Colorado, a historically black agricultural settlement founded by Oliver Toussaint Jackson
  • Establishment of African American burial grounds preservation program to assist in the identification, interpretation, preservation, research, and recordation of previously unmarked, underserved, or abandoned African American burial grounds
  • Requiring installation of a plaque at the peak of Ram Head on St. John in the Virgin Islands National Park to commemorate the slave rebellion that began on St. John in 1733
  • Establishment of the Japanese American Confinement Education program, to provide competitive grants for education about Japanese American confinement during World War II
  • Establishment of the Japanese American World War II history network, encompassing sites and programs related to Japanese American experiences during the war, including relocation centers and confinement sites
  • Historic Preservation Fund: FY 2023 is funded at $204.5 million, an increase of $31.4 million (+18.2%) from the FY 2022 Enacted level of $173.1 million 
    • An increase of $17.6 million for Grants-In-Aid 
      • An increase of $7.0 million for Grants-In-Aid to Indian Tribes 
      • An increase of $4.5 million for Grants-In-Aid to States and Territories
      • An increase of $2.6 million for Competitive Grants 
        • An increase of $2.3 million for African American Civil Rights Grants 
        • An increase of $0.4 million for History of Equal Rights Grants 
      • An increase of $2.5 million for Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants 
      • An increase of $1.0 million for Grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities 

Improving the visitor experience

  • Deferred maintenance:
    • $1.33 billion for high-priority deferred maintenance projects, including rehabilitation of bathhouses at Hot Springs, utility systems at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, water and wastewater systems at Everglades National Park, perimeter fences at Hawaii parks, multiple operational buildings across Idaho parks, and sections of the Natchez Trace Parkway
  • National Mall & Memorial Parks permit fee waivers for veterans for any special use permit for veterans’ special events at war memorials on federal land administered by the National Park Service
  • An increase of $10 million for the National Park Foundation annually through 2030 
  • Extension of the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission until September 26, 2029
  • Extension of an exception to the closure of certain roads within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area for local businesses
  • Authorization for a right-of-way permit to move a pre-existing natural gas distribution pipeline within Valley Forge National Historical Park

Investing in conservation and assisting states and local communities

  • The NPS received $416.8 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund:
    • $105.8 million for the Land Acquisition program, including priority projects at Haleakalā National Park, Timucuan Ecological & Historical Preserve, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Cumberland Island National Seashore, and Saguaro National Park
    • $336.0 million for State Conservation Grants, including $200 million for formula grants and $125 million for competitive Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program grants
  • National Trail Designations and Studies:
    • Designation of the Chilkoot National Historic Trail within Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
    • Authorization of a feasibility study of the Alaska Long Trail
    • Authorization of a feasibility study of the Buckeye Trail in Ohio as a national scenic trail
  • Wild and Scenic River Designations and Studies:
    • Designation of 30.8 miles of the York River in the State of Maine as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System,
    • Designation of 40.3 miles of the Housatonic River in the State of Connecticut as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
    • Authorization of a study of the Little Manatee River in the State of Florida for potential addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
    • Authorization of a study the Kissimmee River in the State of Florida for potential addition to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
  • Authorization of a pilot program to prioritize the use of native plant species within geographically diverse units of the National Park System

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Last updated: January 17, 2023