Record of Determination for the temporary restriction of access to areas of The National Mall and Memorial Parks, for the load out for the Salute to America Celebration and Grand Fireworks Show

This Record of Determination (ROD) amends the July 6, 2026, ROD for closures requested by the United States Park Police related to the load out for the Salute to America, extending certain closures by one day, until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2026.

Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5, the National Park Service (NPS) will impose temporary, intermittent closures of certain designated parklands at the National Mall and Memorial Parks in conjunction with the load out of the 2026 Salute to America Celebration and Grand Fireworks. Closed areas are shown on the attached map and further delineated by fencing or police lines on the ground.

This extension is necessary because turf conditions and worker safety concerns have slowed the load-out schedule, requiring continued closure of areas where work is ongoing. As noted in the July 6, 2026, ROD, this work involves loading equipment onto trucks and using forklifts, cranes, and other heavy machinery to remove temporary infrastructure—equipment that could endanger pedestrians and vehicles if the public were permitted in the area. The United States Park Police (USPP) has confirmed these closures are necessary for public safety and that less restrictive measures would not suffice. Closures will be lifted as soon as they are no longer necessary, restoring public access as soon as practicable.

The temporary and intermittent closures will be extended to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2026, for the following locations:

National Mall and Memorial Parks: Roadways

Continuing from 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, until approximately 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2026:

• 17th Street NW, between Constitution Avenue, NW, and Independence Avenue, SW

National Mall and Memorial Parks: Park areas

Washington Monument Grounds

Continuing from July 6, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. until approximately 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2026, the west and north sides of the Washinton Monument grounds, and a portion of the southern side of the Washington Monument grounds, extending from the ha-ha wall surrounding the base of the Washington Monument north to Constitution Avenue, west to 17th Street, south to Independence Avenue, and east to the Sylvan Theater, including exterior walkways, will be closed to pedestrians as reflected in the below map.

These temporary and partial closures are not of nature, magnitude nor duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” Further, the closures will not adversely affect the parks’ natural, aesthetic or cultural values, are not of a highly controversial nature, and do not require 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 possible while still providing for the safety and security the public and workers and still allow for public access to a significant amount of park land. Closures such as these are commonplace for these types of public events and are necessary to provide the public with as much access as possible to park land while also providing for the security the USPP has deemed necessary for operations.

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, fencing, 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.

Maps

 

Figure 1. National Park Service Public Use Closures

NPS