What Will Be National Park Site #430?
On February 11 I wrote a blog post predicting what would be our next national park site. Well, mere days later (February 15), Amache National Historic Site was officially established as national park site #429. This park preserves the site of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II in Colorado. I correctly predicted this as the next park site, but I was stunned by the quickness in which it was announced. There’s nothing left to do other than predict what will be national park site #430.
Coltsville National Historical Park
This park would preserve the history of Samuel Colt and his gun manufacturing legacy. It would be a perfect companion park to the nearby Springfield Armory National Historic Site. The park was congressionally approved in 2014, but has been stuck in administrative purgatory for almost a decade. However, in December of last year, the National Park Service reached an agreement to obtain the necessary buildings to create a visitor center, which was the main sticking point in making this park official. Considering the official establishment of this park is contingent on this agreement being finalized rather than the actual building of a visitor center, it seems we are probably only months away from this becoming an official unit.
2. Julius Rosenwald & Rosenwald Schools National Monument
The proposed park would preserve and interpret the Rosenwald Schools (a series of Schools for African-Amerivcans in rural areas that was established by the Jewish philanthropist, Julius Rosenwald, during the early 20th century). The quickest way to create a new park is through the president using the Antiquities Act to create a national monument. The National Park Conservation Association has made this potential park a major lobbying target. However, they want it to be a National Historical Park, which would take years to establish as an act of Congress is needed and Congress won’t act on this until the feasibility study that was commissioned for the park is completed. That could take years. The National Park Conservation Association was a major influence on President Biden establishing his only national monument in the National Park Service to date. It would not surprise me if they pivot to lobbying him to make this his second.
3. Blackwell School National Historic Site
Blackwell School has dropped a bit from some recent rankings I have done. The drop is due to news from a few months ago that the park (which would preserve and interpret a historic school that segregated hispanic students from the white population in Texas) is experiencing similar administration issues to the ones that Coltsville suffered. While I don’t think Blackwell School will have the decade-long struggle that Coltsville had, it's enough to be concerned. The National Park Service has been doing outreach meetings with the local population so it’s good news that the department is still being active in the area.
4. Desert Storm and Desert Shield Memorial
The Washington D.C. Memorial will honor those who served in the Gulf War. Ground has already been broken on this new memorial. However, I said on my August list that construction delays were a high probability. The commission behind the memorial is now saying they expect a 2025 opening rather than the original 2024 opening.
5. Bahsahwahbee National Monument
This is another likely candidate for Biden’s use of the Antiquities Act. The monument would preserve the site of multiple Native American massacres in eastern Nevada. The present day tribes there have been pushing in recent months for Biden to use his power to establish a national monument without approval from Congress. The push has been large enough to receive brief national attention back in January.
