Public Lands & Resource Management
H.R. 642 (Myakka Wild and Scenic River Act of 2025)
Purpose: Designates approximately 34 miles of the Myakka River within Sarasota County, Florida, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System to protect its natural and recreational values while keeping day-to-day management local.
Key Provisions: Establishes partnership administration through the Secretary of the Interior and the Myakka River Management Coordinating Council; classifies segments into wild, scenic, and recreational categories; authorizes cooperative agreements and NPS technical/financial assistance; prohibits national park system unit designation, land acquisition via eminent domain, and unauthorized watershed management changes.
H.R. 6788 (Montana Sportsmen Conservation Act
Purpose: Relinquishes restrictive Wilderness Study Area (WSA) constraints on roughly 104,000 acres of public land in Montana to restore multiple-use management.
Key Provisions: Releases the 81,000-acre Middle Fork Judith WSA from the Montana Wilderness Study Act of 1977 for management under the current USFS forest plan; releases the 11,380-acre Hoodoo Mountain WSA and 11,580-acre Wales Creek WSA from FLPMA section 603 requirements for management under BLM resource plans; aims to improve public access, sportsmen opportunities, habitat management, and wildfire mitigation.
H.R. 10128 (Codifying Secretary's Order 3434)
Purpose: Strengthens coordination, communication, and formal partnerships between national park units and adjacent gateway communities.
Key Provisions: Gives the force and effect of law to Secretary's Order 3434, requiring regular meetings, designated community coordinators, and early stakeholder input on land management decisions affecting local infrastructure, tourism, and access.
H.R. 10136 (Crossett Experimental Forest Act of 2026)
Purpose: Transfers the 1,685-acre Crossett Experimental Forest from federal oversight to the State of Arkansas to preserve its long-standing research mission.
Key Provisions: Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the forest and associated facilities by quitclaim deed without consideration upon state request; mandates management as the "Crossett State Forest" for forestry research, education, and demonstration in coordination with the University of Arkansas; includes a federal reversionary clause for failure to maintain designated uses.
National Trails & Commemorative Works
H.R. 5470 (Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act)
Purpose: Designates the historic 2,400-mile alignment of Route 66 as a National Historic Trail managed by the National Park Service.
Key Provisions: Encompasses all historic alignments between Chicago and Santa Monica from 1926 to 1985; restricts private land acquisitions outside federally managed areas without owner consent and limits width to an average of a quarter-mile on either side; prohibits buffer zones, eminent domain, and disruptions to energy development or existing rights-of-way.
H.R. 9269 (Renewing the African American Civil Rights Network Act)
Purpose: Extends the operational authorization of the African American Civil Rights Network (AACRN) to continue recognizing important civil rights sites.
Key Provisions: Amends Title 54 of the U.S. Code to extend the program's authorization for an additional ten years past its initial expiration.
H.R. 9600 (Common Sense 250 Act of 2026)
Purpose: Approves a prime location within the nation's capital for a commemorative work honoring Founding Father Thomas Paine.
Key Provisions: Authorizes the placement of the previously approved Thomas Paine memorial within Area I of Washington, D.C., bypassing standard Commemorative Works Act location limitations.
S. 675 (Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Act)
Purpose: Authorizes federal support and artifact loans for the independently operated Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota.
Key Provisions: Empowers the Secretary of the Interior to provide up to $50 million in matching grants conditional upon the foundation raising at least $100 million from non-federal or state sources; permits the loan of unexhibited federal museum artifacts without consideration; explicitly bars federal involvement in day-to-day library operations.
Local Governance & Geographic Naming
H.R. 9779 (Hands Off Our Boca Chica Beach Act of 2026)
Purpose: Protects local cultural identity by locking in the historic name of Boca Chica Beach in Texas and reforming federal renaming notification procedures.
Key Provisions: Formally designates the shoreline in Cameron County, Texas, as "Boca Chica Beach" across all federal records; requires the Domestic Names Committee of the Board on Geographic Names to directly notify congressional representatives whenever a local geographic renaming proposal is vetted.