The Next National Park
National parks are the crown jewels of the United States. They are the best of what we have to offer as a country. Currently there are 63 national parks, and that number has changed throughout our history. Our newest national park (number 63) is New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, which was established on December 27, 2020. There are numerous movements to add more areas to our list of national parks. However, it takes more than just a movement to create a new national park. National parks must be passed into law by congress and presidential approval. There are the 5 areas most likely to become national park number 64:
1. Chiricahua National Park
Chiricahua National Monument is already run by the National Park Service having been established as a national monument in 1924. The monument preserves impressive rock formations including hoodoos and balancing rocks in the state of Arizona. A movement to turn this area into a national park has actually made a lot of progress and gotten some big names behind it. Most important of these names is US Senator Mark Kelly, who was actually able to shepherd the Chiricahua National Park Act through the Senate this past Spring. Unfortunately, momentum for this bill has stalled in the House of Representatives where a companion bill has been discussed in committee but has never made it to a floor vote. However, the fact that this was able to pass through the Senate means that it’s likely inevitable that a future version of this bill will make its way to a president’s desk.
2. Delaware Water Gap National Park
The Sierra Club has built an initiative to turn Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in New Jersey and Pennsylvania into a National Park in order to give minority groups easier access to a national park. The Delaware Water Gap is not far from New York City, meaning this would be one of the most visited national parks in the country if it were ever to be established. While the Delaware Water Gap might not scream “National Park” like some settings in the country do (Interstate 80 goes right through its namesake feature, a gap in the Poconos that the Delaware River runs through), it feels of a piece with some of the recently established national parks like New River Gorge and Cuyahoga Valley. Its similarity to these two national parks and its great location makes the establishment of Delaware Water Gap National Park seem inevitable but it could be years before it actually happens as the initiative has met a lot of resistance by local governments who are worried that National Park status would mean the end of hunting in the area. Hunting in National Parks is illegal, but the Sierra Club is pushing a workaround by establishing Delaware Water Gap as both a National Park and National Preserve. It’s a method proponents of New River Gorge used to get its National Park status.
3. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Park
For decades it seemed like there were many calls for a National Park to be established in the Maine North Woods. These calls got a huge boost when Katahdin Woods and Waters National monument was established in 2016. The establishment was met with much controversy at the time with conservative media making it seem like this was a federal government power grab akin to eminent domain when in fact this was one person (Roxanne Quimby) owning all of the property that is now the monument other than the dirt roads within it and then specifically donating it to the government for the sole purpose of turning it into a national monument. The controversy has died down a lot in the years since. The area just feels like a national park, which once again makes this feel like a status change is inevitable. However, it’s too soon since the monument’s establishment and the controversy that came with it to realistically get Congress to act on this in the near future. A decade from now, though, feels quite plausible.
4. Rock Creek National Park
While the first three areas on this list feel like inevitable National Parks, the rest of this list’s future gets a lot murkier. The Rock Creek National Park Act has been a priority of Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holems Norton, who represents Washington D.C. in Congress. Rock Creek is essentially Washington D.C.’s version of Central Park, however, it is owned by the federal government and run by the National Park Service already. While the act to create this into a national park has not picked up much momentum, Rock Creek once again feels like an area akin to New River Gorge and Cuyahoga Valley.
5. Ocmulgee Mounds National Park
This is another area that is already run by the National Park Service in the form of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, which preserves earthworks left behind by the Mississippian culture. There has been a lot of grassroots momentum to turn this into a national park but not much congressional movement. However, Congress has shown willingness to work on this area. Just in 2019 they changed it from a National Monument to a National Historical Park and have added land to the park multiple times.
