    [Senate Hearing 117-297]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                           S. Hrg. 117-297

                              PENDING LEGISLATION

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                                SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                                 NATIONAL PARKS

                                     OF THE

                                  COMMITTEE ON
                          ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                       on

    H.R. 268                                    S. 2964                              S. 3519
    H.R. 1931                                   S. 3141                              S. 3551
    S. 557                                      S. 3185                              S. 3667
    S. 1344                                     S. 3240                              S. 3685
    S. 1718                                     S. 3307                              S. 4114
    S. 1814/H.R. 3531                           S. 3334                              S. 4121
    S. 2367                                     S. 3338

                                   __________

                                  MAY 11, 2022

                                   __________

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                           Printed for the use of the
                   Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

            Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov

                                  __________

                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    47-939                     WASHINGTON : 2024

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

                    JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia, Chairman
    RON WYDEN, Oregon                    JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
    MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
    BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont             MIKE LEE, Utah
    MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico          STEVE DAINES, Montana
    MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii              LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
    ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine            JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
    CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada       JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
    MARK KELLY, Arizona                  BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
    JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER, Colorado       CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
                                         ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
                                     ------

                         Subcommittee on National Parks

                          ANGUS S. KING, JR., Chairman

    BERNARD SANDERS                      STEVE DAINES
    MARTIN HEINRICH                      MIKE LEE
    MAZIE K. HIRONO                      LISA MURKOWSKI
    MARK KELLY                           JOHN HOEVEN
                                         JAMES LANKFORD

                          Renae Black, Staff Director
                          Sam E. Fowler, Chief Counsel
                         David Brooks, General Counsel
                 Richard M. Russell, Republican Staff Director
                  Matthew H. Leggett, Republican Chief Counsel
            John Tanner, Republican Deputy Staff Director for Lands

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------

                               OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                       Page
    King, Jr., Hon. Angus S., Subcommittee Chairman and a U.S.
      Senator from Maine.............................................     1
    Daines, Hon. Steve, Subcommittee Ranking Member and a U.S.
      Senator from Montana...........................................     2
    Hirono, Hon. Mazie K., a U.S. Senator from Hawaii................     3

                                    WITNESS

    Caldwell, Michael A., Associate Director, Park Planning,
      Facilities, and Lands, National Park Service, U.S. Department
      of the Interior................................................     4

              ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED

    Ala Kahakai Trail Association et al.:
        Letter for the Record........................................    49
    Appalachian Trail Conservancy:
        Letter for the Record with attachment........................    51
    Backcountry Hunters and Anglers:
        Letter for the Record........................................    65
    Bar Harbor Bank and Trust:
        Letter for the Record........................................    66
    Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce:
        Letter for the Record........................................    67
    Caldwell, Michael A.:
        Opening Statement............................................     4
        Written Testimony............................................     7
        Responses to Questions for the Record........................    46
    Daines, Hon. Steve:
        Opening Statement............................................     2
    Friends of Acadia:
        Letter for the Record........................................    68
    Hirono, Hon. Mazie K.:
        Opening Statement............................................     3
    Island Housing Trust:
        Letter for the Record........................................    71
    King, Jr., Hon. Angus S.:
        Opening Statement............................................     1
    League of Towns:
        Letter for the Record........................................    72
    National Memorial to the Women Who Worked on the Home Front
      Foundation:
        Letter for the Record........................................    73
    New Philadelphia Association:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    80
    North Country Trail Association et al.:
        Letter for the Record........................................    89
    Preservation Maryland et al.:
        Letter for the Record........................................    91
    Sawyer, Rhonda L.:
        Letter for the Record........................................    94
    USDA Forest Service:
        Statement for the Record.....................................    95

                                      ----------
    The text for each of the bills addressed in this hearing can be found
    on the Committee's website at: https://www.energy.senate.gov/hearings/
    2022/5/national-parks-subcommittee-legislative-hearing

                              PENDING LEGISLATION

                                  ----------

                            WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022

                                   U.S. Senate,
                        Subcommittee on National Parks,
                     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m. in
    Room SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Angus S.
    King, Jr. presiding.

             OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ANGUS S. KING JR.,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM MAINE

        Senator King. Good morning. Welcome to today's legislative
    hearing to consider 20 bills related to a variety of national
    park issues. In honor of today's hearing, I am wearing my tie
    which has on it small figures of Mount Desert Island, where
    Acadia National Park is, so, there it is, if you wonder what
    these figures are.
        Among these bills, we will hear about efforts to
    reauthorize the Japanese American Confinement Site program,
    which helps preserve and educate Americans about one of the
    darkest times in our nation's history. We will also hear about
    bills that will honor the women who worked on the home front
    during World War II. One bill would expand the Rosie the
    Riveter World War II Home Front National Historic Park in
    California and another would establish a memorial to those
    women here in Washington, DC. Other bills deal with boundary
    adjustments at existing park units. My bill, S. 4114, would
    allow a parcel of land in the Village of Town Hill to be used
    for affordable workforce housing.
        In 1986, the Acadia Boundary Act was passed. That was a
    piece of legislation that fixed Acadia National Park's
    boundaries as well as adding and subtracting various pieces of
    land. At that time, the piece of land in question in this bill
    was to be transferred to Bar Harbor for the purposes of a trash
    transfer station, but it turns out this wasn't the place for
    that station, and the legislation was so specific, it could not
    be transferred for any other purpose, so the parcel has
    languished for the past 36 years. This bill now replaces this
    use with an affordable workforce housing use and allows the
    Park Service to hang onto 15 acres for its own housing needs.
    As we have discussed here in the Subcommittee before, access to
    affordable workforce housing is a problem across the Park
    Service, and I hope we can move this bill and others forward to
    start to make a dent in this problem for Park Service employees
    across the country, but in this particular bill, for those
    working at Acadia National Park.
        Another bill we will consider is sponsored by my colleague
    from Maine, Senator Collins, and would encourage the use of
    native plant species within the Park Service. Using native
    plants will help to preserve biodiversity and increase the
    benefits that local flora provide to our wildlife, human
    health, and the environment, and will also help prevent the
    future spread of invasive species. I look forward to learning
    more about this legislation today.
        Finally, I would like to mention a bill introduced by
    Ranking Member--no, by Co-Chair Daines--the Gateway Community
    and Recreation Enhancement Act. I was honored to work with him
    on this bill, which will help provide support to our gateway
    communities that are so vital to the success of our national
    parks across the country. The bill will also help provide
    additional vital data to visitors that will help improve their
    experience, telling them when an attraction is especially busy,
    when might be a better time of the day to visit, or suggesting
    a nearby alternative attraction that is not as busy at that
    time.
        Last week, the full Energy and Natural Resources Committee
    included a number of provisions from this gateway communities
    bill in the larger Outdoor Recreation Act, and I want to thank
    Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso for that
    inclusion.
        Now, for a procedural note on today's hearing, I will first
    recognize Co-Chair Daines for his opening statement. Following
    his remarks, I will recognize members of the Committee who wish
    to make a statement about their bills on the agenda, followed
    by any members not on the Committee seeking to make a
    statement. After that, I will introduce our witness before we
    get to questions. Also, without objection, all members may
    submit letters of support or opposition to any additional
    materials regarding measures on today's agenda.
        Now, Senator Daines, you are recognized for your opening
    statement.

                OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. STEVE DAINES,
                       U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA

        Senator Daines. Chairman King, thank you.
        In today's hearing we are going to examine 20 mostly
    parochial parks and lands bills from Hawaii to Maine and
    literally about everywhere in between. Today's agenda spans the
    country. We also have the bipartisan Senate bill 3551, the
    Gateway Community Recreation and Enhancement Act, which
    Chairman King and myself introduced earlier this year. This
    important bill gives the tools and the direction of the
    Department of the Interior and the Forest Service to work with
    gateway communities to address the housing shortages and
    increased visitation infrastructure demands. It will also give
    public land managers the tools that they need to manage
    visitation by coordinating with state, local, and federal
    recreation sites as well as private entities to encourage
    visitation to lesser-known recreation opportunities. Our
    national parks and our gateway communities are being loved to
    death. By ensuring that employees and locals have adequate
    housing and encouraging visitors to visit lesser-known sites,
    we can support our rural communities, protect our parks from
    becoming overburdened, and ensure places like Montana continue
    to be accessible to all and not just the rich and the famous.
        The Chairman and I worked hard to include this language in
    last week's legislative markup where we were successfully able
    to include it in the bipartisan Outdoor Recreation Act. I hope
    that we can all work together to get this signed into law soon
    so we can provide the much-needed relief to our public lands
    and gateway communities. I am also excited to hear more about
    Chairman King's housing bill. While Montana and Maine may be
    far apart on the map, we share many of the same challenges.
    This includes the needs for affordable housing for park
    employees, the teachers, the hospitality workers, guides and
    outfitters, emergency responders, and families that serve the
    communities and visitors in our national parks. The folks in
    Gardiner, Montana, outside of Yellowstone National Park, share
    many of the same concerns as those in Bar Harbor, Maine,
    outside of Acadia. This is why we worked so closely together on
    our gateway communities bill and why I hope we hear more about
    Senate bill 4114.
        With that, Mr. Chairman, I turn it back over to you, and
    look forward to the testimony from our witness.
        Senator King. Thank you, Senator Daines.
        Senator Hirono, do you have a statement?

              OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII

        Senator Hirono. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I would like to briefly discuss the importance of H.R.
    1931, the Japanese American Confinement Education Act, of which
    I am a co-sponsor. Due to unsubstantiated fear of Japanese
    Americans in 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order
    9066, which led to the unjust and unconstitutional internment
    of Japanese people in the United States. This horrific
    treatment of Japanese people during World War II simply because
    of their ancestry is a stain on our country's history. In 2006,
    Congress recognized our nation's need to tell the painful story
    by passing the Preservation of Japanese American Confinement
    Sites Act. This law established the Japanese American
    Confinement Sites Grant Program, to be administered by the
    National Park Service. Since then, the National Park Service
    has awarded these grants to non-profits, educational
    institutions, state, local, tribal governments, and other
    public entities working to preserve Japanese American
    incarceration sites and their history.
        Over $1.4 million of this funding has gone to entities in
    Hawaii, like the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii and the
    University of Hawaii. This funding has supported a range of
    projects, including working with teachers in Hawaii schools to
    develop curriculum on Japanese American incarceration and
    history as well as projects to conduct interviews with 15
    individuals who left their homes in Hawaii to join their
    fathers who were detained in the Jerome Relocation Center in
    Arkansas. In 2006, the bill authorized $38 million for the
    grant program with a sunset clause saying the program would end
    two years after all funds were disbursed. Those funds are
    expected to run out this year. That is why it is important that
    we pass H.R. 1931 to make sure that the program continues. May
    is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, making this an
    especially fitting time to consider this bill.
        H.R. 1931 increases the authorization of appropriations for
    the program from $38 million to $80 million to allow grants to
    continue beyond this year. It also carves out a portion of the
    program to provide education grants specifically to Japanese
    American organizations, with priority given to those with fewer
    than 100 employees. As you can imagine, many of the
    organizations in this field do not have hundreds of employees,
    so this is an important aspect of what we are doing, and this
    would allow groups like the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii
    to digitize the many physical records currently at the National
    Archives to provide greater access and connect families with
    these stories to learn more about their history. We have come a
    long way since 1942, and a lot of important work has been done
    with the grants since the 2006 bill was passed. However, the
    last two years, during COVID, have shown that we still have a
    long way to go when it comes to treating everyone in this
    country with dignity and respect. As the COVID-19 pandemic
    swept the world, we again saw the detrimental consequences of
    unfounded fear and misinformation as discrimination and racism
    incited a disturbing rise in violence and hate crimes against
    Asians and Pacific Islanders in communities across the country.
    That is why we must pass this bill to ensure that we continue
    educating the public about Japanese American incarceration and
    work to ensure this painful part of U.S. history is never
    repeated. And of course, the lesson is that minority groups, be
    they be Japanese Americans, Muslims, or any other minority
    group, should not be targeted for discrimination and
    discriminatory treatment in our country.
        So, Mr. Caldwell, I hope that you will talk a little bit
    about the historic demand you have seen for these grant funds,
    and if you expect interest in this program to continue well
    into the future.
        Thank you for the hearing. I have a conflict, so, Mr.
    Chairman, I know you understand. Thank you for giving me the
    time to put my statement into the record.
        Senator King. Thank you, Senator.
        I am well aware of the conflicts. I was just in another
    hearing and suggested to the technology people there that AI
    might be applied to Senate scheduling so that we do not have
    these continuous conflicts.
        Michael Caldwell is the Associate Director for Park
    Planning, Facilities, and Lands at the National Park Service.
    Mr. Caldwell, you have appeared before this Committee before.
    Welcome back. Thank you for being here today, and we look
    forward to your thoughts. Thank you.

     OPENING STATEMENT OF MICHAEL A. CALDWELL, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,
     PARK PLANNING, FACILITIES, AND LANDS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE,
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

        Mr. Caldwell. Thank you.
        Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the
    Department of the Interior's views on the 20 bills on today's
    agenda. I would like to submit our full statements on each of
    the bills for the record and summarize the Department's views.
        The Department supports the following 15 bills:
        H.R. 268, which would provide for the boundary of the Palo
    Alto Battlefield National Historic Park to be adjusted and
    authorize the donation of land for addition to the park.
        H.R. 1931, which would amend the legislation authorizing
    the Japanese American Confinement Site Program to provide
    competitive grants for the promotion of Japanese American
    confinement education.
        S. 557, which would establish a pilot program for native
    plant species.
        S. 1344, which would redesignate the Pullman National
    Monument in the State of Illinois as the Pullman National
    Historical Park.
        S. 1718, which would amend the Rosie the Riveter World War
    II Home Front National Historical Park Establishment Act of
    2000 to provide for additional areas to be added to the park.
        S. 1814/H.R. 3531, which would authorize the Women Who
    Worked on the Home Front Foundation to establish a
    commemorative work.
        S. 2367, which would authorize the Secretary of the
    Interior to acquire land in Frederick County, Maryland, for the
    Historic Preservation Training Center of the National Park
    Service.
        S. 3185, which would amend the Delaware Water Gap National
    Recreation Area Improvement Act to extend the exception to the
    closure of certain roads within the recreation area for local
    businesses.
        S. 3240, which would waive the application fee for special
    use permits for veterans' special events at war memorials.
        S. 3334, which would extend the authority for the
    establishment of a commemorative work to honor enslaved and
    free black persons who served in the American Revolution.
        S. 3338, which would revise the boundary of the Saint
    Genevieve National Historical Park in the State of Missouri.
        S. 3519, which would amend the National Trails System Act
    to designate the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail
    and for other purposes.
        S. 3667, which would establish the United States African
    American Burial Grounds Preservation Program.
        S. 3685, which would direct the Secretary of the Interior
    to conduct a special resource study of the John P. Parker
    House.
        And S. 4114, which would amend Public Law 99-420 to provide
    for the conveyance of certain federal land in the State of
    Maine for use for affordable workforce housing and for other
    purposes.
        The reasons for our support of these bills are explained in
    our full statements. For several of the bills we are requesting
    amendments and we would be happy to work with the Committee on
    drafting them.
        The Department supports the intent of S. 3551, the Gateway
    Community and Recreation Enhancement Act. The Department is
    supportive of Congressional efforts to provide the various
    federal land management agencies under its jurisdiction with
    greater authority and flexibility to respond to changing needs
    and higher visitation. We appreciate the Committee's work to
    take action on these issues and would welcome the opportunity
    to continue working with the bill sponsors and the Committee in
    a collaborative manner to advance these goals.
        Regarding S. 2964, which would clarify the status of the
    North Country, Ice Age, and New England Scenic Trails as units
    of the National Park System, the Department does not object to
    the goal of the bill, which is to treat all six national scenic
    trails administered by the National Park Service as units of
    the National Park System. We would recommend amending the bill
    to statutorily designate all six national scenic trails as
    units.
        S. 3141 would establish the New Philadelphia National
    Historic Site in the State of Illinois as a unit of the
    National Park System. The Department would note that a special
    resource study is currently in progress for New Philadelphia.
    If the Committee decides to act on this legislation, we would
    appreciate the opportunity to work with you on amendments and a
    legislative map.
        The Department opposes S. 3307, which would modify the
    boundary of the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in the
    State of Missouri to include approximately 624 acres that
    include the site of the Battles of Newtonia. An earlier special
    resource study found that the battlefields did not meet the
    criteria for significance or suitability.
        Finally, the Department has no position on S. 4121, which
    would designate the Kol Israel Foundation Holocaust Memorial in
    Bedford Heights, Ohio, as a national memorial. The memorial
    would be located at a site that is not under the jurisdiction
    of the Department of the Interior, and this bill does not
    provide for any management or funding by the National Park
    Service.
        Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be
    pleased to answer any questions you may have.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Caldwell follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator King. Thank you, Mr. Caldwell, and thank you again
    for being with us.
        Co-Chair Daines and I have talked a number of times about
    the importance of the people that work at our national parks--
    the staff--and as you know, housing is an issue because often
    parks are situated in the middle of high-value real estate, and
    so housing is a problem. That is the bill that you so
    graciously offered your support to. S. 4114 conveys 40 acres
    from Acadia to the Town of Bar Harbor. And that in itself, the
    fact that the land will have no cost will be a major support
    for development of housing on that site.
        Let me ask a broader question, however. Is this something
    that the Park Service is concerned about generally, and can you
    give me some thoughts about how we approach this issue of
    affordable housing more generally? Of course, the bill that we
    have before us is a specific response, but talk to me about
    workforce housing more generally across the parks system.
        Mr. Caldwell. Sure. Thank you, Senator King.
        And certainly, we know of your interests in housing at
    Acadia and also the broader system. Director Sams has
    consistently communicated to the field, to all employees of the
    National Park Service, that employees are his number one
    priority and housing is very much an important part of that.
    Without some of the housing that we have in our units, those
    units just could not operate. So we are attacking this issue on
    a number of fronts across the National Park system, including a
    new FY23 budget request for both the construction on NPS lands
    and leasing in local communities of additional housing,
    exploring the potential for public-private partnerships to
    solve some of the housing needs that not only the National Park
    Service has, but also our gateway communities, like Senator
    Daines mentioned--the medicals and teachers--all the sorts of
    people that are in these gateway communities that we are proud
    to be part of, they share the same issues that we have in
    housing. So, certainly, our Director has charged us with using
    those authorities that we have or working with others to try to
    maybe gain some more flexibilities and authorities that are
    needed for public-public partnerships to help us with our
    housing needs.
        Internally, in the National Park Service, we are revising
    Director's Order #36, which is our guidance for housing. It has
    been close to two decades since it was revised. So, you know,
    the housing needs have changed in the past two decades, so we
    are undertaking that right now. And last week we held a housing
    summit, hosted by Director Sams, where we had concessioners, as
    well as the private sector, as well as folks who have been
    involved in Department of Defense housing, just looking at new
    ways to offer housing for National Park Service employees as
    well as working with our communities. So I would characterize
    this as a top priority in the agency across the entire system.
        Senator King. Is the Park Service having difficulty
    obtaining workers, as most other American entities are these
    days?
        Mr. Caldwell. Yes, part of the summit that we had last
    week, we hosted, included three superintendents: Yosemite,
    Rocky Mountain, as well as Big Cypress. And certainly, you
    could have had Yellowstone or Acadia as part of that panel as
    well, but they did indicate that it is hard to make offers to
    seasonal workers or even permanent workers without the ability
    and the flexibility to offer housing. So there were a number of
    instances where that was communicated.
        Senator King. Separate from the housing issue, are they
    having difficulty filling vacancies?
        Mr. Caldwell. I think they--in general, in terms of filling
    vacancies, it is harder from a seasonal workforce standpoint to
    fill those vacancies without those housing alternatives
    available in the community. So that is one of maybe several
    issues in terms of filling positions within park units.
        Senator King. In the Subcommittee, we often talk about
    bills that--as there is the John P. Parker House Study Act, and
    this is a bipartisan bill to have the Park Service study the
    applicability and appropriateness of developing a new park,
    particularly for underrepresented resources and stories. How do
    we approach this issue and how can the Subcommittee help?
        Mr. Caldwell. Thank you. Certainly, within where we are
    with special resource studies, we are currently studying a
    number of units, including Springfield Race Riots, for example,
    for possible inclusion in the National Park system. I think
    within our cultural resources program, there have been a number
    of efforts to look at these thematic themes and these networks
    of different aspects of our history, and I think continuing to
    encourage us to study the broader themes of American history is
    one way the Committee can certainly help support the system. In
    2017, the National Park Service came out with a system plan,
    which identified certain gaps, both in our natural history, as
    well as our cultural history and our shared heritage, and I
    think utilizing that National Park system plan as a guide to
    maybe where the system could go in the future, would--I think,
    the Committee supporting that idea would be very helpful.
        Senator King. Thank you.
        Senator Daines.
        Senator Daines. Mr. Caldwell, our bipartisan Gateway
    Community and Recreation Enhancement Act helps coordinate
    efforts between gateway communities, federal land managers, and
    public-private groups to address housing shortages and
    affordable housing for park employees and community members,
    and I think it is fair to say, since Senator King and I started
    working on this, the situation has even gotten worse than it
    was, perhaps, when we began this journey a while back. So I
    think the sense of urgency to move forward and take some action
    to address this problem is appropriate.
        What is the Park Service doing now to address housing
    shortages in gateway communities and how will our bill further
    strengthen these existing efforts?
        Mr. Caldwell. Thank you, Senator. I think, as we alluded to
    with the earlier question, we have forwarded an increase in our
    housing improvement fund to both construct additional housing
    as well as lease housing in gateway communities. So that is one
    piece of it. The National Park Service, over the past several
    years, has put in, from a number of funding sources, up to $95
    million to add capacity as well as repair housing. So, by the
    end of 2026, there will be approximately 95 different projects
    completed throughout the National Park System related to
    housing. And I think one thing about, certainly, the spirit of
    your legislation is the ability to offer flexibility on the
    ground to our park managers to work with communities to
    address--whether it is housing or visitation--overcrowding at
    different units. And I think the Park Service, you can see this
    in action in things like the Zion Regional Recreation
    Management Plan, where four counties in Utah are working with
    federal agencies to address the problems that we share. We
    share these wonderful resources, but with those resources come
    these shared challenges. So in the spirit of the Gateway Act,
    we certainly think that whether it is housing or visitation or
    spreading the visitation to other units, having those
    flexibilities for our park managers is really important.
        Senator Daines. You know, Senator King brought up the issue
    of open headcount slots and needing to fill slots in this
    current workforce shortage, a challenge we face in our country.
    I think that the housing, too, as we improve the housing for
    employees, that is an important retention strategy as well to
    build morale. Housing is such an important part of that, I
    think, of that total package.
        Our bipartisan bill also requires that the Park Service
    work with other federal land managers to address increased
    visitation, in part, by encouraging visitation to lesser-known
    public land recreation opportunities. In Montana, there are
    countless recreation opportunities, but we see that folks often
    only visit one or two of the more well-known sites. How will
    spreading visitation help reduce pressure at some of our high-
    impact recreation sites?
        Mr. Caldwell. Senator, I think, speaking certainly as a
    former superintendent, one of the strongest partnerships you
    can have locally are with both your local travel bureaus as
    well as your statewide tourism bureaus, and I certainly have
    seen this at work in a number of states. I just referred to the
    one at Zion. And I think those happen across the system. I
    think we need to continue to emphasize these partnerships
    across the system where, whether it is a federal, state, or
    local unit, we are all in this together, and our goal is to
    both preserve these resources and provide for the enjoyment of
    the visitor.
        And so, I think those powerful partnerships, giving the
    park managers some flexibility to facilitate those
    partnerships, really are key to dealing with some of the issues
    that you cited.
        Senator Daines. Spreading visitation also, I think, will
    allow folks to visit and experience sites they may have never
    heard of, like the Lewis and Clark Caverns. That is a state
    park, west of my hometown of Bozeman, or the Bighorn Canyon
    National Recreation Area. How will our bipartisan bill help
    promote these lesser-known gems and bolster recreation on all
    of our public lands?
        Mr. Caldwell. I think, from whether it is marketing,
    promotion, or just providing that stellar visitor experience,
    to meet the visitors where they are and then make sure that we
    are also communicating the other assets and things that are
    enjoyable in that particular area, is really something that we
    should do as an agency, and I know we do. In many ways, while
    the park rangers are ambassadors at Acadia for Acadia National
    Park, they are certainly up there and should be able to speak
    to Katahdin Woods or to Baxter State Park or Campobello Island,
    for example. And I think that is the type of on-the-ground
    partnership that we need to continue to emphasize in the field.
        Senator Daines. Mr. Caldwell, thank you.
        Mr. Caldwell. Thank you.
        Senator King. Thank you, Mr. Caldwell.
        As a member of the Commission at Campobello, I appreciate
    that mention. We need to have some people turn right instead of
    left when they leave Mount Desert Island, and they can also
    experience some amazing places.
        S. 3551, which is a bill Senator Daines was talking about--
    the recreational opportunities in gateway communities--you
    didn't explicitly support, but I understand you have some
    technical and other issues. I certainly hope that you will
    continue to work with the Committee so we can iron those out
    and move that bill with the other package.
        Mr. Caldwell. Yes, we would welcome that opportunity. Thank
    you, Senator.
        Senator King. Thank you.
        We have S. 2964, the National Scenic Trails Parity Act,
    which, for me, highlights an issue that I have noticed,
    particularly when I have gotten engaged with this Committee. It
    turns out we have 25 different titles for National Park units.
    We have national parks, trails, monuments, historic parks,
    battlefields, reserves, lake shores, on and on. I would suggest
    that it might be helpful to the public to do some work to try
    to create more consistent and less confusing labels, if you
    will, for these units. Is that something that we can discuss
    and perhaps pursue? I want the public to know what the
    difference is, and I am not sure we need 25 different labels.
        Mr. Caldwell. I think we would welcome a chance to work
    with you and the Committee staff on that issue.
        Senator King. And you mentioned--Senator Daines mentioned--
    the state park, and I think informing the public is important.
    And we, in the bill that we talked about and passed last week,
    there is a provision for technology for alerting people to
    where parks are crowded, but the other is other regional assets
    that may not be national parks. For example, in Moab, you are
    near, I think, Reef, certainly near Arches and other national
    parks, but there is Dead Horse Point State Park, which is an
    astonishing place, and it would be nice if there was an app
    that would talk about public resources within the region. And I
    hope that is something the Department will look at.
        Mr. Caldwell. I think we certainly support the spirit of
    making sure that we are communicating and connecting visitors
    to those places where they go. This nation is blessed with some
    incredible state parks, and I think, certainly, our visitors
    appreciate when we make those connections.
        Senator Daines. Just a thought on that too, following on
    the app, Senator King. You know, when the public is out
    recreating, they are not necessarily too caught up on whether
    it is a state park or a national park, and it is public lands,
    and I know we tend to have to be in our silos in terms of the
    way that the governments are organized, but I think it is
    really something to expand thinking--national park apps
    recommending where is a great state park nearby. So I think it
    is an interesting idea.
        Senator King. Complete with reviews.
        Senator Daines. Complete with reviews.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator King. Mr. Caldwell, additional testimony for the
    Subcommittee this morning? Do you have other subjects that we
    should be attending to that are not in this package of
    legislation?
        Mr. Caldwell. Not that come to the top of my pile, sir, but
    we certainly do appreciate though, the interest in housing, in
    particular, certainly with Bar Harbor as well as places like
    Gardiner. Just to reiterate, I know Director Sams has continued
    to emphasize employees are his priority for the system and I
    think your support to provide adequate, quality housing is
    really important, not just to the employees, but certainly to
    the public that visits those parks. So we appreciate that.
        Senator King. Is it nice to have a director?
        Mr. Caldwell. It is nice to have a director. Thank you,
    sir.
        Senator King. Thank you.
        Any further questions?
        [No response.]
        Senator King. Without further questions, I appreciate the
    testimony, Mr. Caldwell.
        This hearing is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 10:34 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

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