Position on H.R. 866 and H.R. 1484

H.R. 866: Federal Land Freedom Act of 2015 – NPCA opposes this bill that would strip the authority of the federal government to regulate oil and gas development on federal lands. National parks are only as protected as the landscapes of which they are a part. Many Western parks are in landscapes experiencing an unprecedented boom in oil and gas production, which, if not regulated carefully, can impact national park air, water, and wildlife. Federal rules for leasing oil and gas have been developed to permit continued development of the resources while providing common-sense protections for the environment. Removing the authority of the federal government to regulate oil and gas development on public lands would abandon the input from millions of Americans, and instead subject publicly-owned lands to a patchwork of uncertain state regulations.

H.R. 1484: Honor the Nevada Enabling Act of 1864 Act – NPCA opposes this bill that would convey certain public federal lands to the state of Nevada. This is a short-sighted bill that would threaten the protection of public lands that are held for the benefit for all Americans. As noted above, national parks are only as protected as the landscapes of which they are a part, so relinquishing lands that border national parks to state control could have devastating consequences for our national treasures preserved on national park land.