Why it Matters

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will meet on July 29 to consider a sweeping package of 22 conservation and public lands bills at a moment when the Trump administration is dramatically shrinking the federal workforce tasked with managing those same lands. The legislation ranges from wilderness designations to Route 66 preservation, but the bills face an uncertain path as the administration pursues significant staffing and budget reductions at the agencies that would implement them.

The National Park Service has already lost 24 percent of its permanent staff since January 2025, roughly 4,000 people. The administration's fiscal 2026 budget proposal would eliminate 30 percent of staff across the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management. The Park Service also faces a proposed $1.2-billion funding cut, despite Congress approving $3.267 billion for the agency for the fiscal year.

The Conservation Agenda

The bills scheduled for consideration span the country and address a range of conservation priorities. Several focus on wilderness designations and Wild and Scenic Rivers. S. 888 would designate certain land in Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, while S. 1476 would designate nearly 450 miles of the Gila and San Francisco river systems as Wild and Scenic. S. 1737 would designate and expand wilderness areas in Washington's Olympic National Forest and designate certain rivers as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Other measures address park expansions and commemorations. S. 1777 would expand Joshua Tree National Park's boundary and redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center as the "Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center," honoring the principal author of the California Desert Protection Act that created the park. S. 2801 would authorize a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating the Canterbury Shaker Village National Heritage Area.

The committee will also consider S. 2887, which would designate the Route 66 National Historic Trail. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is actively expanding Route 66 preservation efforts, including grants for legacy businesses and educational projects.

Several bills address targeted changes to existing protections. S. 365 would amend the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to allow additional entities to complete maintenance work on Bolts Ditch and the Bolts Ditch Headgate within the Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado. S. 2498 would authorize the secretary of the interior to extend certain leases within units of the National Park System without opening the leases to competitive bidding.

The Staffing Crisis

The timing of the committee's legislative push comes as federal land management agencies continue to experience significant workforce reductions. Since January 2025, 5,800 public lands jobs have been eliminated across the federal government. The Park Service cuts have forced layoffs and furloughs that conservation groups say threaten routine maintenance and visitor services.

The Trump administration has justified many of the reductions through its executive order, "Unleashing American Energy," which led the U.S. Forest Service to cancel its proposal to withdraw approximately 264,000 acres of public land in Nevada's Ruby Mountains from oil, gas and geothermal development in April 2025.

The Committee

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), with Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) as ranking member, will hold its business meeting on July 29 to consider the package of legislation.

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