Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5, the National Park Service (NPS) will implement the following temporary and/or intermittent closures Thursday, August 27, 2026 through Saturday, August 29, 2026, of certain designated parklands at the National Mall and Memorial Parks as delineated in the attached maps. The demonstration, associated with the 63rd Anniversary of the March on Washington, will be attended by high profile members of Congress and other prominent public figures. Multiple law enforcement agencies have concluded that the closures hereby authorized are necessary to ensure a safe environment for both the general public and protectees in the permitted area. These temporary closures and use limits come at the request of the United States Park Police based on need to provide for public safety in the area as well as the United States Capitol Police and Virginia State Police based on requirements for security for persons under their protection. Based on the evaluation of those law enforcement agencies, less restrictive measures will not suffice to provide for public safety. Park Area Closures The National Park Service will close the following parklands and roads to pedestrians and vehicular traffic within its jurisdiction in order to facilitate the March on Washington events. From 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, 2026, until approximately 3:00 p.m. on Friday, August 28, 2026, the following areas will be closed or limit access to the public:
From 5:00 a.m., until approximately 5:00 p.m., Friday, August 28, 2026, the following roads will be closed to vehicular traffic:
In addition, the permit holder is to temporarily restrict certain items from the limited ticketed area on park property that is part of the footprint of this event. The permit holder plans to post a prohibited items list and will conduct screening via hand-held metal detector wands by their contracted security personnel within the VIP portion of the site (map below). The permit holder will be responsible to safeguard and collect all prohibited items. The Permit holder will provide a list of restricted items and it will be posted at the site where screening will occur.This temporary, partial closure is necessary to protect public safety and prevent conflicts between visitors and the permitted activity. Permitted event equipment poses a potential hazard to individuals in the immediate vicinity, making it necessary to restrict public access to the impacted area while load-in, the event, and load-out are underway. These temporary closures are not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” Further, the public use limit and closure will not adversely affect the parks’ natural, aesthetic or cultural values, is not of a highly controversial nature, and does not require a long-term or significant modification in the resource-management objectives of any affected park. Rather, these closures are limited temporally and geographically as much as practicable while still providing for the safety and security of the public and this specific activity, which is similar in certain respects to other events, including having wide appeal to the general public both locally and from further away. This closure still allows for public access to a significant amount of park land around the impacted areas. Closures and public use limits such as these are commonplace for these types of public events with large expected attendance and significant load-in and load-out requirements, and are necessary to provide the public with as much access as possible to park land while also addressing the event security and public safety concerns that the United States Park Police has identified for this event. Accordingly, the National Park Service determines publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(b). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures or public use limitations, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 29, 2002), plaintiff’s emergency motion for injunction pending appeal denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02- 5275 (D.C. Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C. September 9, 1994); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. January 26, 1988); Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F. Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), aff'd in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C. Cir. May 31, 1995). Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure and public use limit will be made through media advisories, maps, and by posting at conspicuous locations in the affected park areas. Finally, pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request. Kevin L. Griess /s/ 8/26/2026 Superintendent 
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Last updated: August 27, 2026