Heinrich Releases Statement on 110th Anniversary of the National Park Service, Celebrates National Park Week

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement celebrating the 110th anniversary of the National Park Service (NPS) today, August 25, 2026, during National Park Week, which runs from August 22 to August 30 this year. All entrance fees to national parks are waived for U.S. citizens and residents today, August 25, 2026.

"110 years ago, President Woodrow Wilson signed the law creating the National Park Service to protect some of the most treasured places in our country and ensure they belong to all Americans.

"Our national parks and public lands are part of our shared identity. They are literally the anvil on which our collective identity was forged. They preserve the stories of generations who came before us, give everyone a place to explore and connect with the outdoors, and serve as an economic engine for communities across the country. In 2024 alone, visitors to our national parks spent $29 billion in communities near parks, supporting 340,000 jobs and generating more than $56 billion in economic activity.

"But as the National Park Service celebrates 110 years, our parks face a $24 billion maintenance backlog and severe staffing shortages. The Trump administration has forced out thousands of employees, proposed deep cuts to the agency, and taken steps to erase history at our parks.

"Instead of working to address these maintenance needs and keep visitors safe and our parks accessible, the administration is making hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars available for the President's vanity projects. That's bullshit. We should be investing in the national parks that belong to all of us - not a golden ballroom for the President.

"This week, I encourage every American to get outside, enjoy a national park or public land, and help protect these national treasures for generations to come."

As Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Heinrich is leading the fight in Congress to protect our public lands, expand access to national parks, and hold the Trump administration accountable for its attacks on these treasured places - from efforts to erase history in our national parks and divert funding to Trump's vanity projects, to the President's proposed golden White House ballroom, his botched Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool rehabilitation project, and his actions that make our national parks less safe for visitors.

This month, Heinrich joined top Senate Democrats in sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown to audit and assess the full scope and cost of the White House ballroom project.

Also, this month, Heinrich sent a letter requesting that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Deputy Inspector General Caryl Brzymialkiewicz investigate what Department officials knew - and when they knew it - about engineering failures at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and whether DOI employees withheld evidence from federal prosecutors.

In July, Heinrich criticized legislation that removes protections for public lands, emphasizing the need for bipartisan collaboration within the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Heinrich additionally fact-checked Trump administration actions that undo protections for the Chaco Canyon Cultural Protection Zone. You can read about Heinrich's actions to protect Chaco Canyon here and here.

In July, Heinrich sent a letter to DOI Secretary Doug Burgum and U.S Park Chief of Police Scott Brecht demanding answers and transparency about the U.S. Park Police's new vehicle pursuit policy following news reports that an innocent bystander, Nolberto Armando Sanabria Meza, a 46-year-old food delivery driver, was hit and tragically killed in D.C. by a driver being chased by U.S. Park Police.

In June, Heinrich helped advance the America the Beautiful Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Angus King (I-Maine) to reauthorize the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, out of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

In June, Heinrich sent a letter demanding answers from DOI Secretary Doug Burgum about the Trump administration redirecting tens of millions of dollars from fees paid to the NPS to fund President Trump's vanity projects in Washington, D.C. - including redirecting funds collected at New Mexico sites such as Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Bandelier National Monument.

In April, during a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine the Trump administration's Budget Request for the DOI Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27), Heinrich grilled DOI Secretary Doug Burgum about the Department's draconian staff cuts at the NPS.

In March, Heinrich joined lawmakers in filing an amicus brief that would put a stop to President Trump's plan to construct a commemorative arch on federal property. The amicus brief argues that the President's plan is illegal unless Congress authorizes it.

In March, Heinrich led his colleagues in delivering remarks on the Senate floor in condemning and drawing attention to the Trump administration's efforts to erase American history from public lands.

In March, Heinrich sent a letter to DOI demanding answers from the NPS following reports that NPS staff across the country are removing signage from national parks about slavery, Tribal history, and climate change.

In February, Heinrich led his colleagues in calling on DOI Secretary Doug Burgum to halt efforts to create the Department's new U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), citing potential life-or-death consequences that could come as a result of decoupling wildfire management from land management agencies, and emphasizing concerns related to recent reductions in staffing, combined with improperly severing wildfire management from land stewardship.

Last December, during a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks hearing to consider 26 pending bills, Heinrich criticized the Trump administration for removing fee-free admission on Juneteenth and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Last October, Heinrich delivered remarks on the Senate floor, criticizing Republicans for pushing forward Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval targeting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Resource Management Plans (RMPs) that would undo protections for national parks, including the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Last October, during the government shutdown, Heinrich urged the DOI Secretary Doug Burgum to classify the Department's staff as essential during the Republican government shutdown to maintain the health and safety of Americans who visit public lands, wildlife refuges, and national park sites.

In June of 2025, Heinrich successfully fought Senate Republican provisions to sell off public lands in the Big Bad Bill, lead an amendment to prevent the privatization of our public lands, hosted a roundtable and sounded the alarm about New Mexico public lands that were at risk of being sold off by Republicans, continuously uplifted New Mexicans' voices who called his office to raise their concern with Republicans' plan to sell off these lands, and released a statement immediately criticizing Senate Republicans' plan to sell off public lands following the release of the reconciliation text.

In June of 2025, Heinrich blasted the Trump administration for its plans to transfer national park units to state control, criticizing the administration for "cutting off our access to public lands and devastating state economies in the process, overwhelming state budgets and dismantling the systems that keep public lands running."

In June of 2025, Heinrich grilled the DOI Secretary Doug Burgum over the Trump administration's Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget request for the Department, which slashes funding for national parks and guts staffing for the agency.

In May of 2025, Heinrich sent a letter to DOI Secretary Doug Burgum, demanding answers from the Trump administration regarding its plans to transfer National Park System units from federal management. The letter follows Heinrich's questioning of Secretary Burgum during a Senate Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, where Burgum failed to provide sufficient answers on the Trump administration's plan to transfer hundreds of sites managed by the NPS to the states.

In January of 2025, Heinrich's Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act and Every Kid Outdoors Extension Act, which extends free access to national parks and other public lands to all American fourth grade students and their families through 2031 - were signed into law as part of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act. The broader bipartisan package bolsters outdoor recreation and promotes public lands in New Mexico and across the United States.

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