White Sands National Monument, Las Cruces, New Mexico

The White Sands National Park Establishment Act was introduced in May of 2018 by Sen. Heinrichs (D-NM), but no votes or further action occurred. However, the Senator successfully included the legistlation within the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. Currently, the bill is in reconciliation stages within both houses of Congress, a unified bill and a presidential signature remain as the last two steps. New Mexico officials have been briefed on the possible transition, local support is strong, with both the press and the city council championing the new designation.

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park, Macon, Georgia

Ocmulgee recently expanded in size and underwent a name change from monument to historic park. The park protects and interprets ancient earth mounds and more than “17,000 years of continuous human habitation.” Local researchers and civic groups have placed support to increase the scale of this park to over 50,000 acres, preserving many unknown and unprotected historical sites believed to be in the surrounding area. The proposal also seeks to create a “Park and Preserve” model to allow for hunting and fishing in the Preserve regions. No formal legislation has occurred at this time.

Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C.

D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has recently introduced new legislation to elevate this park, established in 1890 (before the NPS was created), to the status of national park. In 2017 and 2015, similar bills died in committee in the House. There is not particularly robust local support.

Chiricahua National Monument, Willcox, Arizona

Chiricahua is a magical landscape, the remains of a volcanic explosion that left behind hoodoos, pinnacles, and balancing rocks. Many visitors wonder why it isn’t already a national park; legislation was introduced in Congress in 2016, though the bill did not make it out of committee. There is a strong local groundswell to promote this park to national status, though it seems to be a hard sell with Washington.

Fort Sumter National Monument, Charleston, South Carolina

Representative Mark Sanford and Senator Tim Scott introduced two bills (one in 2016 and another in 2017) proposing designation of Fort Sumter as a national park. The bills did not progress beyond committee. Recently, the park underwent a change to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, incorporating the long included Revolutionary War fort in the name. No further efforts to elevate this park have been submitted.

Katahdin National Monument and Maine Woods, Millinocket, Maine

Since the late 1990’s, local residents have been both adamantly for and against the move to create another national park in Maine. In 2016, the Obama administration designated several hundred thousand acres of donated land to be a national monument, which stands adjacent to Baxter State Park. There is still a vibrant debate as to whether this monument should be elevated to a national park, particularly among locals, and if Baxter should merge into that park.

Mount Hood (Oregon)

This site is 50 miles from downtown Portland, Oregon, and is the tallest peak in Oregon. The site is a potentially still active conical volcano! It has long been a prospect for national park status, with initial legislation presented in the 1940’s, but the idea has cooled off significantly, but for a small and vocal local population, which advocates for moving Mount Hood from the national forest system into the national park system.