The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 is an omnibus lands act that protected public lands and modified management provisions. The bill designated more than of

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

, expanded several

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

and other areas of the National Park System, and established four new national monuments while redesignating others. Other provisions included making the

Land and Water Conservation Fund The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and ...

permanent, protecting a number of rivers and historic sites, and withdrawing land near

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

and

North Cascades National Park North Cascades National Park is an American national park in the state of Washington. At more than , it is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Complex. North Cascades National Par ...

from mining. Passage of the bill was hailed as a rare

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

environmental victory.

Legislative history

The last major bill passed regarding public lands was the

Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (, ) is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The bill designates millions of acres in the US as protected a ...

. Since then many bills had been introduced but never passed; the Act incorporates more than 100 pieces of legislation, collectively introduced by some 50 senators and a range of representatives. S. 47, initially the Natural Resources Management Act, was sponsored by Senators

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...

of Alaska and

Maria Cantwell Maria Ellen Cantwell (; born October 13, 1958) is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Washington ...

of Washington, the chair and former ranking member of the

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recla ...

. The

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

voted for the bill 92–8 on February 12, 2019, and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

passed it 363–62 on February 26. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

signed it into law on March 12, 2019, as P.L. 116-9. Following initial passage, an addendum named the bill for John Dingell, Jr. to honor the recently deceased former Congressperson who had sponsored multiple landmark conservation laws during his lengthy tenure, and was known as being an avid outdoorsman and conservationist. The

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Inspired by California's Legislative Analyst's Office that manages ...

estimated the bill would save $9 million in direct spending over 10 years and would generate substantial additional revenue.

Provisions

The law is divided into nine titles, each containing a number of provisions. Selected major provisions are listed.

Title I

Subtitle A

Subtitle A authorizes land exchanges with and conveyances to local governments and private landowners. * added to

Arapaho National Forest Arapaho National Forest is a National Forest located in north-central Colorado, United States. The region is managed jointly with the Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee National Grassland from the United States Forest Service office in ...

Subtitle B

Subtitle B addresses management of public lands and the

National Forest System In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands. National forests are largely forest and woodland areas owned collectively by the American people through the federal government, and managed by t ...

. * Authorizes

Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial The St. Francis Dam was a concrete gravity dam located in San Francisquito Canyon in Los Angeles County, California, United States, built from 1924 to 1926 to serve Los Angeles's growing water needs. It catastrophically failed in 1928 due to a ...

and establishes Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Monument in California () * Establishes the John Wesley Powell National Conservation Area in Utah () * Allocates up to of federal land in Alaska to be conveyed to up to 2,800

Native Alaskan Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entertai ...

s who are

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veterans and their heirs *Designates as Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness in New Mexico

Subtitle C

Subtitle C designates new

wilderness areas Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

and other protected areas, in total expanding designated wilderness area by across four states. Organ Mountains WSA (9469542743)

* In

Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument The Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument is a United States national monument in the state of New Mexico, managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of the National Landscape Conservation System. Description The monument ...

, New Mexico: ** as

Aden Lava Flow Wilderness Aden Lava Flow Wilderness is one of many Wildernesses operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in New Mexico. It is in size. The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed March 12, 2019, designates the Wi ...

** as Broad Canyon Wilderness ** as Cinder Cone Wilderness ** as East Potrillo Mountains Wilderness ** as Mount Riley Wilderness ** as

Organ Mountains The Organ Mountains (also known as La Sierra de los Órganos) are a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument was declared a national monument on May 21, 2014 ...

Wilderness ** as Potrillo Mountains Wilderness ** as Robledo Mountains Wilderness ** as

Sierra de las Uvas The Sierra de las Uvas or Grape Mountains are a mountain range in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 i ...

Wilderness ** as Whitethorn Wilderness * In Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico: ** as Cerro del Yuta Wilderness ** as Río San Antonio Wilderness * of the

Methow Valley The Methow River ( ) is a tributary of the Columbia River in northern Washington in the United States. The river's watershed drains the eastern North Cascades, with a population of about 5,000 people. The Methow's watershed is characterized by re ...

, in

Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest The Okanogan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Okanogan County in north-central Washington, United States. The forest is bordered on the north by British Columbia, on the east by Colville National Forest, on the south by the ...

, Washington, is withdrawn from mining use * Emigrant Crevice, in

Gallatin National Forest The Gallatin National Forest (now known as the Custer-Gallatin National Forest) is a United States National Forest located in South-West Montana. Most of the Custer-Gallatin goes along the state's southern border, with some of it a part of North- ...

, Montana, is withdrawn from mining use *San Rafael Swell Recreation Area is established in Utah () * Segments of the Rogue River, Franklin Creek, Wasson Creek,

Molalla River The Molalla River is a tributary of the Willamette River in the northwestern part of Oregon in the United States. Flowing northwest from the Cascade Range through Table Rock Wilderness, it passes the city of Molalla before entering the larger r ...

, and Elk River, Oregon, are added to the

National Wild and Scenic Rivers System The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...

(280 miles) * Designates as Devil's Staircase Wilderness in Oregon Rogue River (Josephine County, Oregon scenic images) (josD0059)

* In Utah: ** as Big Wild Horse Mesa Wilderness ** as Cold Wash Wilderness ** as Desolation Canyon Wilderness ** as Devil's Canyon Wilderness ** as Eagle Canyon Wilderness ** as Horse Valley Wilderness ** as Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness ** as Little Ocean Draw Wilderness ** as Little Wild Horse Canyon Wilderness ** as Lower Last Chance Wilderness ** as Mexican Mountain Wilderness ** as Middle Wild Horse Mesa Wilderness ** as Muddy Creek Wilderness ** as Nelson Mountain Wilderness ** as Red's Canyon Wilderness ** as San Rafael Reef Wilderness ** as Sid's Mountain Wilderness ** as Turtle Canyon Wilderness ** The

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

is added to the

* Jurassic National Monument () is established in Utah, managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

* Rivers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire are added to the

(225 miles) * In California: ** as Avawatz Mountains Wilderness ** as Great Falls Basin Wilderness ** as Soda Mountains Wilderness ** as Milpitas Wash Wildernes ** as Buzzards Peak Wilderness ** added to Golden Valley Wilderness ** added to Kingston Range Wilderness ** added to Palo Verde Mountains Wilderness ** added to Indian Pass Mountains Wilderness ** added to

Death Valley National Park Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka ...

Wilderness ** added to San Gorgonio Wilderness (

San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...

) * are added to

* are added to

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to t ...

* Alabama Hills National Scenic Area is established in California

Title II

Subtitle A

Subtitle A calls for special resource studies of the President James K. Polk Home & Museum in Tennessee, the Thurgood Marshall School in Maryland,

President Street Station The President Street Station in Baltimore, Maryland, is a former train station and railroad terminal. Built in 1849 and opened in February 1850, the station saw some of the earliest bloodshed of the American Civil War (1861-1865), and was an impo ...

in Maryland,

Granada War Relocation Center The Amache National Historic Site, formally the Granada War Relocation Center but known to the internees as Camp Amache, was a concentration camp for Japanese Americans in Prowers County, Colorado. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor o ...

in Colorado, and the George W. Bush Childhood Home in Texas for consideration of inclusion in the National Park System.

Subtitle B

Subtitle B adjusts the boundaries of: *

Shiloh National Military Park Shiloh National Military Park preserves the American Civil War Shiloh and Corinth battlefields. The main section of the park is in the unincorporated town of Shiloh, about nine miles (14 km) south of Savannah, Tennessee, with an addit ...

, also creating Parker's Crossroads Battlefield as an affiliated area *

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (formerly Ocmulgee National Monument) in Macon, Georgia, United States preserves traces of over ten millennia of culture from the Native Americans in the Southeastern Woodlands. Its chief remains are majo ...

, renamed from Ocmulgee National Monument *

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Kennesaw Battlefield Park preserves a Civil War battleground of the Atlanta Campaign, and also contains Kennesaw Mountain. It is located at 900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive, between Marietta and Kennesaw, Georgia. The name "Kennesaw" derives from ...

Fort Frederica National Monument Fort Frederica National Monument, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort and town built by James Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748 to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from Spanish ...

, adding *

Fort Scott National Historic Site Fort Scott National Historic Site is a historical area under the control of the United States National Park Service in Bourbon County, Kansas, United States. Named after General Winfield Scott, who achieved renown during the Mexican–American ...

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument The Florissant Formation is a sedimentary geologic formation outcropping around Florissant, Teller County, Colorado. The formation is noted for the abundant and exceptionally preserved insect and plant fossils that are found in the mudstones and ...

, adding *

Voyageurs National Park Voyageurs National Park is an American national park in northern Minnesota near the city of International Falls established in 1975. The park's name commemorates the ''voyageurs''—French-Canadian fur traders who were the first European settle ...

Acadia National Park Acadia National Park is an American national park located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park preserves about half of Mount Desert Island, part of the Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, and ...

, adding *

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves the Springwood estate in Hyde Park, New York. Springwood was the birthplace, lifelong home, and burial place of the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. T ...

, adding

Subtitle C

Subtitle C redesignates several NPS areas: * Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site as

Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire, preserves the home, gardens, and studios of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), one of America's foremost sculptors. This was his summer residence from 1885 to 1897, his perman ...

* Names Robert Emmet Park * Fort Sumter National Monument as

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located in Charleston County, in coastal South Carolina. It mainly protects Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, the Charleston Light and Liberty Square, ...

* Reconstruction Era National Monument as Reconstruction Era National Historical Park * Golden Spike National Historic Site as

Golden Spike National Historical Park Golden Spike National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake in east-central Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The nearest city is Corinne, approximately eas ...

World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument The World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument was a U.S. National Monument honoring events, people, and sites of the Pacific Theater engagement of the United States during World War II. The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, ...

is divided into

Pearl Harbor National Memorial Pearl Harbor National Memorial is a unit of the National Park System of the United States on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act removed the site from the World War II Valor in the Pac ...

, Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument ( FWS), and

Tule Lake National Monument The Tule Lake National Monument in Modoc and Siskiyou counties in California, consists primarily of the site of the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, one of ten concentration camps constructed in 1942 by the United States government to incarce ...

* Honouliuli National Monument as

Honouliuli National Historic Site Honouliuli National Historic Site is near Waipahu on the island of Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. This is the site of the Honouliuli Internment Camp which was Hawaiʻi's largest and longest-operating internment camp, opened in 1943 and closed ...

Subtitle D

Subtitle D establishes new units of the National Park System: *

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument The Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, also known as Medgar Evers House, is a historic house museum at 2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive in Jackson, Mississippi. Built in 1956, it was the home of African-American civil rights ac ...

, Mississippi *

Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument The Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument was the location of the Battle of Mill Springs (also known as Battle of Fishing Creek and as Battle of Logan's Crossroads) in January 1862. It was declared to be a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1 ...

, Kentucky * Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument, Kentucky (renamed from Camp Nelson National Monument as designated by presidential proclamation)

Subtitle E

Subtitle E amends miscellaneous management provisions. * The

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

Historic Preservation Program is reauthorized. * A commission is established to plan the

Adams Memorial The Adams Memorial is a proposed United States presidential memorial to honor the second President John Adams; his wife and prolific writer Abigail Adams; their son, the sixth President John Quincy Adams; John Quincy Adams' wife Louisa Catherine ...

Subtitle F

Subtitle F relates to the

National Trails System The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

. *Extends the

North Country National Scenic Trail The North Country National Scenic Trail, generally known as the North Country Trail or simply the NCT, is a footpath stretching over from Middlebury in central Vermont to Lake Sakakawea State Park in central North Dakota in the United States; ...

into Vermont *Extends the

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is a route across the United States commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806. It is part of the National Trails System of the United States. It extends for some from Pittsburgh, Pen ...

to Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana *Authorizes a study of the route of

Zebulon Pike Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado was named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions under authority of President Thomas Jefferson th ...

Pike Expedition The Pike Expedition (July 15, 1806 – July 1, 1807) was a military party sent out by President Thomas Jefferson and authorized by the United States government to explore the south and west of the recent Louisiana Purchase.Berry, Trey; Pam ...

as Pike National Historic Trail

Title III

Title III reauthorizes the

indefinitely. At least 40% of the funds, derived from offshore drilling royalties, are to be used for federal lands, and at least 40% are allocated to the states.

Title IV

Title IV states that public land managed by the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management is open to hunting, fishing, and shooting, unless closed under certain procedures.

Title V

Title V establishes a National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System under the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

and reauthorizes the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992.

Title VI

Title VI designates new

National Heritage Area In the United States, a National Heritage Area (NHA) is a site designated by Act of Congress, intended to encourage historic preservation of the area and an appreciation of the history and heritage of the site. There are currently 62 NHAs, some ...

s: * Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area, Maryland and West Virginia * Maritime Washington National Heritage Area, Washington *

Mountains to Sound Greenway The Mountains to Sound Greenway is a 1.5 million-acre landscape situated in the Pacific Northwest. On March 12, 2019, it was designated a National Heritage Area, to be managed by the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, as part of the John D. Dinge ...

National Heritage Area, Washington * Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area, California * Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, Arizona * Susquehanna National Heritage Area, Pennsylvania It also lays out procedures for planning and management of national heritage areas.

Title VII

Title VII concerns wildlife management.

Title VIII

Title VIII concerns water and power and the

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

. Among its provisions, it reauthorizes the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, with the purpose of promoting water conservation, water supply, habitat, and stream enhancement improvements in the

Yakima River The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington state, named for the indigenous Yakama people. Lewis and Clark mention in their journals that the Chin-nâm pam (or the Lower Snake River Chamnapam Nat ...

basin.

Title IX

Title IX has miscellaneous provisions: * Makes permanent the

Every Kid in a Park Every Kid in a Park is a program run by the United States National Park Service in which fourth graders in the country receive free admission to National Parks. The program was created by Barack Obama in 2015 and has been renewed annually every year ...

program – allows free admission for fourth grade students and their families to federal lands (Every Kid Outdoors Act) *Expedites access to public lands and waives insurance requirements for

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

volunteers (Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act) *Allows

Public Land Corps The Public Land Corps (PLC) is a work and education program for young people and veterans that is run by the United States land management agencies in association with state conservation and service corps. The objective is the rehabilitation and ...

programs for youth and veterans to partner with more federal agencies on conservation and restoration projects (21st Century Conservation Service Corps Act) * Designates the

Nordic Museum The Nordic Museum ( sv, Nordiska museet) is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the early modern period (in Swedish history, it is said to be ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, as the National Nordic Museum (National Nordic Museum Act) * Designates the George C. Marshall Museum and Research Library in

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

, as the National George C. Marshall Museum and Library * Updates federal law to use modern terminology in reference to minority groups (21st Century Respect Act) * Permits the designation of American World War II Heritage Cities to recognize preservation of World War II home-front history * Designates the Quindaro Townsite National Commemorative Site * Designates the

National Comedy Center The National Comedy Center is an American museum dedicated to comedy. The museum and its archives are located in Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, New York. The museum documents the history of comedy and the artists, producers, writers, c ...

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...

Notes

References

External links

{{Wikiquote, John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act
Full text of the bill
from Congress.gov
Position on S. 47, Natural Resources Management Act
from the

National Parks Conservation Association The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is the only independent, nonpartisan membership organization devoted exclusively to advocacy on behalf of the National Parks System. Its mission is "to protect and enhance America's National Pa ...

Acts of the 116th United States Congress United States federal public land legislation