The subcommittee on oversight investigations will now come to order. The chair is authorized to recess the subcommittee at any time. The committees hearing testimony on examining barriers to access at Americas National parks. I asked unanimous consent that all members be allowed to give testimony and participate in the hearing from the dais. I ask that the gentleman from california be allowed to participate in the hearing. I asked that the gentleman from minnesota be allowed to participate in the hearing. And the gentlewoman from virginia be allowed to participate. And that the gentleman from illinois be allowed to sit with the subcommittee. Without objection, so ordered. The hearings are limited to the chairman and ranking minority member. Questions may be part of the hearing record if they are submitted in accordance with the committee rule. So ordered. I recognize myself for my introductory comments. I think Deputy Director reynolds for coming before the committee. We are examining the incredible failure of the National Park service under the Biden Administration carrying out the core mission of writing access to public lands and preserving those for future generations. I have a lot of respect for the talented americans working day in and day out in our parks. And welcoming visitors every day. My criticisms are pointing towards bureaucrats in d. C. The last several years, the park Service Received historic investment from the federal government. And i should note, the private sector. For years, i have listened in this committee, if you give us more money, we will solve these problems. If i get one message across today, it is this. Maybe more money isnt just a solution. Im here to tell you something. Americans continue to love National Parks, as they should. But the management stinks. The lines are longer, employees continue to not show up, bathrooms are broken and trails are closed. Socalled inflation reduction investment act set aside 500 million. Thats half 1 billion to hire staff for the park service. Several years ago, Congress Passed the Great American outdoors act. Among other management agencies, 13 billion of deferred maintenance backlog. Today, instead of growing a the workforce, we get reports of popular closed trails like the popular white house overlook trail. The only public trail on the south rim. And smuggling as well as the presence of rabies in the park, like Coronado National monument. Convenience stores are closed until further notice. There is a warning not to ingest water at the lake. Despite growing levels of investment in National Parks, employees, and critical if a church, the situation is getting worse for visitors and critters in the parks. The entire system is suffering from mismanagement and the American People end up paying for it. Arizona as of september, 2022 had 1. 2 billion dollars in deferred maintenance across 22 different park units. This is unacceptable. Panda damages the Visitor Experience and restricts access to National Parks. Reducing the deferred maintenance backlog should be our priority, for the record shows this is not the case. Therefore maintenance backlog needs to grow your after year. The huge increase, despite receiving 1 billion from the american outdoors act. The committee expects a concrete plan in how the National Service can get back on track. It is in a state of disrepair with countless examples of damaged transportation infrastructure cutting off access to all areas of the National Park system. And impacting recreation opportunities, businesses and gateway communities that support the parks and Outdoor Recreation economy. In 2022, the National Park system recorded over 311 million recreational visits, a similar number is expected this year. As visitations from around the world continue to flock to our National Parks, i find it shocking that the National Park service is not doing everything in their power to support the gateway communities that support these parks. In my home state of arizona, i have been discouraged. We shut down air tours over our parks. These air tours are critical for those who do not have the physical ability to hike or bike to similar locations and support the local economy. I believe that with Stronger Leadership at the National Park service and working with congress, we can accomplish a lot for the American People. The National Park service should work with congress to develop a more active Management Strategy for the park system, and incorporate the best sign 10 technology to increase access to public lands for all americans and protect these amazing spaces. I recognize the Ranking Member for her opening comments. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I want to welcome our Deputy Director, mr. Reynolds, thank you for being with us today. I want to take a moment to thank all of our federal employees and park Service Employees who are on the ground serving our great country and protecting these iconic and beautiful spaces that are so important to our Cultural Heritage and ecological integrity. This is a wonderful and welcome hearing to be here with the park service today. I want to take a moment to just acknowledge what an incredible moment were living in historically in terms of the transformation of the park service. I worked at the office of management and budget during the obama administration, and was involved in oversight of department of interior. Its amazing to see even during the last several years, the transformation within the park service and what a difference the great leadership makes. Its extraordinary to think that the u. S. Department of the interior is now under the leadership of our nations very first indigenous cabinet secretary. And that the National Park service has at its helm our nations very first director. We are extraordinarily grateful for his leadership. And for all the things he is doing to help transform the culture within the park service, to help tell a more complete history of our nations beautiful public lands. And his and all of the efforts of the National Park service to protect these ecologically important places. The National Park service is working to advance equity to support underserved communities. To tackle the climate crisis, to conserve our Natural Resources and preserve these public spaces and waters for generations to come. The park service is making these spaces more accessible to all people. And as i said, telling a more complete history. As we know, many of our National Parks are actually spaces that are formerly Indigenous Lands in which our tribes lived, used, hunted and used for ceremonial purposes. The park service is partnering with tribal communities to return Sacred Places and access to important resources. The park service is working with our communities to increase access for underserved communities. And doing the daily activities that they have always done to make sure we can access those spaces. In addition to that, and i agree with many comments my colleagues made about conditions worsening in our National Parks. But i would beg to differ that the primary source of that problem is rooted in Climate Change. Its getting hotter. Our ecosystems are degrading. We have less people working in parks because not only a historic pandemic that decimated the federal workforce. Let donald trump who dismantled and made a concerted effort dismantling our federal workforce and pushed many people out of federal service. While there may be challenges that the park service has always faced, they have been exacerbated by Climate Change, by the pandemic and by a historically bad president who pushed out many of our federal workers. I want to take a moment to turn to some important work the park service is undertaking currently. In particular, just to use a the moment at the end to thank the president and thank our Deputy Director and all the staff for the announcement this week of the president s creation of the emmett till National Monument. For those of you that are not familiar with the story, this week would have been the 82nd birthday of emmett lewis till. A young black man from the south who met an untimely death at 14 years old. His mothers refusal to remain silent after the brutal murder of her son, and the open casket of his death are part of what galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and propelled it forward. This is the work the National Park service and our president are doing today to make sure we tell the complete story of this great nation. And its sometimes tragic and complicated past. Im grateful for the president s brave efforts to recognize emmett and his mother. The signing of that proclamation and the continued work by the National Park service to uplift these stories and create spaces where all americans see themselves, their history, and see their future. I yield back. I think theres another way of going about things. I look through a different lens. Could we have a National Park volunteer system where we can put people to work . There is a lot of ways we should be looking at this, not just one way with more money. I thank the gentlewoman. Now id like to hear from the witness, mr. Mike reynolds, Deputy Director of congressional external relations National Park service. Your five minutes or started. Thank you, sir. Chairman gosar and members of the subcommittee to present the department of the interiors views. The National Park service is honored to care for all parks on behalf of the American People and welcome them to experience the wonders of the park system. The nps six to provide outstanding experiences for all visitors while upholding our mandate to preserve the park resources for the benefit of present and future generations. Investment from the Great American outdoors act, the infra rate or law, the Inflation Reduction Act and disaster supplemental appropriations have allowed nps to address vertical needs. Get the nps faces many challenges. Whether due to national disasters, Public Safety, seasonal Wildlife Protection or infrastructure improvement, certain areas may be close out of necessity. Our goal is to reestablish access as soon as possible. Four provide alternatives where closures are permanent. Our resources and facilities can be affected by hurricanes, flooding, drought, wildfires leaving them inaccessible. There are times the areas may be closed to protect wildlife or culturally significant a rtificats. Our existing staff is spread more thinly than in years past. The nps is grateful for the 500 Million Congress provided. However this will not fully or permanently restore lost capacity. As we welcome visitors to their National Parks this summer and beyond, we encourage visitors to check our website to make sure the areas they hope to see our open and accessible. Visitors expect to find highquality facilities which enable a safe and memorable experience, yet many roads, trails and facilities are aging and strained by underfunding. They were not designed for the use that we get now. We are grateful for the passage of the american outdoors act to address deferred maintenance. It has helped make meaningful progress improving the condition of highpriority assets. While projects are underway, temporary closures will typically be required as we improve the facilities. Road and trail closures have not resulted in significant reduction in total visitation. Park facilities and Staffing Levels are challenged to keep pace with increasing visitation. The nps is pulling a range of strategies to provide a welcoming environment while protecting significant resources. We have long managed that country areas by issuing trailhead and overnight permits. As we test new ideas and tools, were connecting robust stakeholder engagement. Congestion can result in gridlock, visitor conflict, safety issues, resource damage and delays in emergency response. Timed entry system spread visitation throughout the day, produce lines and avoid impacts on resources. This allows visitors to better plan and have enjoyable experiences while having the added benefit of a spanning the economic benefits of parks. The nps once visitors to have highquality experiences wherever they go. The nps is committed to finding innovative solutions, collaborating with communities, making response will choices to ensure future generations can be inspired by the parks entrusted to our care. We appreciate your ongoing support as we endeavor to achieve these goals. Chairman gosar, writing member, thank you for this opportunity to appear today. Id be happy to answer questions. Thank you, mr. Reynolds. Now we will go to members. You have five minutes. Mr. Lamalfa from california. I appreciate sitting in on the committee today. Director reynolds, thank you for your time. In my own district, we have lassen National Park, the volcano. The phone lines have been down for quite a while, at least april, perhaps longer. That is not to be unexpected from the amount of snow we had. But there is no other phone number listed on the parks website that is working or available. Even including fire and Law Enforcement except for 911. The only option to visitors is inquiring through email. Which the email response is we will get back to you asap. We have been getting dissatisfaction from our constituents on that. How can we improve . I cant imagine this is going to make any positive experience for our folks with just that level of communications. And then take that to what it means for Public Safety as well if you would. Is that a question, sir . Do you believe thats going to be a positive experience for people to not have timely communication as were in the summer season, beach boys all summer long and what about the Public Safety concerns for those who cant communicate in real time . Thank you for bringing that to our attention. I will reach out to the superintendent and find out what the status is of their phone systems. We pride ourselves with our interpretive rangers, 800 plus Visitor Centers, we try to be open for a highquality experience. There must be something uniquely happening around lassen. To your point, their winter was severe and i know they had trouble opening roads. So we will double check that, but i wasnt aware the phone lines were impacted. Is this a Public Safety concern if there is no live communication . The rangers are on radio dispatch 24 7, and i think they would have mitigated those, but we want to make sure 911 and any phone system is there. You have a system of oversight that should be catching this sort of thing . We do. Our Regional Directors are accountable for making sure superintendents are adhering to these things. We can double check with those folks and report back to you all. The park near whiskeytown, we had the carr fire in 2018. There is three good hikes available in that area. Two of the most popular trails remain closed five years later. The kicker is neither one of them was in a severe burn area. It wasnt that big of an effect by what the fire did. Do they evaluate the timeliness of that . And the superintendent there, do they evaluate the ability of the superintendent to efficiently reopen a park like that . There would be an evaluation. This is Something Else we can follow up on in terms of status. You know better in your district, that part was impacted by the carr fire. Facilities, roads, trails. They were replacing these over the last couple years and the trails may be a priority we can identify when they will be completed, and or reopened. Five years is quite a milestone of time for having the main trail still not available. Whiskeytown during and after covid didnt have a great amount of visitation, but they were forced to use only a handful of trails, so we have got to do better on that timewise. When the trails are left unused for years, they become overgrown. And then that more than quadruples the costs of the work it takes to reestablish them. Have a lot of volunteers who want to help do this. How can we have more local partnerships, more folks engage in this and not closing doors . We are very fortunate to have nearly half a million volunteers throughout nps systems. I can only imagine that park has those relationships and are leveraging them. This would be Something Else player finding frustration in not being allowed to do that. Again, were five years in. That would be something we would be happy to ask why there is a roadblock. We use volunteers a lot, particularly for trail building, resource help and perhaps replanting trees. We need to take advantage of it, so if theres an issue at the local level, or individuals road blocking, we need to change that. The gentlelady from nevada is recognized. Thank you, chair and Ranking Member. Its nice to see you, mr. Reynolds. When the president established a National Monument earlier this year in my district, he directed interior to evaluate opportunities to locate a Visitor Center or other information facilities. He also specified that the National Park service and bureau of Land Management shall manage the monument cooperatively with nps retaining primary authority over the portion of the monument within the Lake Mead National recreation area. Could you update us on the status of the Park Services work with blm to prepare an agreement to share whatever resources are necessary to manage the monument . Yes, thank you for bringing that up. Were proud to be part of your district with this new monument. The first thing was a new cooperative agreement where we invited tribes to the table and that process is underway. And were having planning conversations with blm about locating facilities. How were going to Work Together in this partnership approach. I dont have the fine details on deadlines, we can easily make a phone call back to you. But you havent missed anything. Were getting everybodys feet on the ground but particularly consulting with tribes because of the unique nature of this site. And leveraging lake mead and existing parks around to get things up and running. With respect to the Visitors Center and other facilities, to what extent is the park service involved in the development . Do you have any idea of potential location . Is there discussion of areas you are looking at . Im not aware of that. I apologize i wouldnt know exactly. Most of that area was intended to be managed as wilderness. There is probably a few places they have preidentified. Blm will have a lot of lead on that, is my understanding, but we will be active participants in the selection and development of it. Id love a follow up on status. We will do that. Also, i want to talk about the Lake Mead National recreation area. Mr. Gosars statement with lake powell. We have witnessed many closures over the past year. This time last year, there was only one remaining boat launch open. Now given the banner snowpack in the west, things have turned around entirely with all of the boat ramp lodges open, at least partially open with the sole exception of boulder harbor. How long does the park service anticipate conditions will allow these to remain open . Do you have any idea . This is the hard part with Climate Change. Were fortunate this year that the water levels are high. Were engaged in a lowwater planning process that your office has also engaged with us about. And were awaiting a bureau of Reclamation Study on Water Management that will help us understand longterm predictability. But i assure you we are committed to providing recreation, to keeping as many of these as we can. Disaster supplemental has been extremely helpful in getting some of the other boat ramps reopened. Thats what were planning in the future, as these studies come together, how we can design them to basically flow with the water up and down the shore. With lake mead being one of the most visited National Recreation areas in the country, it was lets just say very disruptive to our economy. In fact, im aware many of your excellent frontline Staff Members bore the brunt of many peoples frustration. And were unfairly burdened with that. What are you doing to better manage expectations . And how can we help with that to protect frontline workers . Thank you you to you and your staffs help and support, both funding politically, and in our communications. What we can do is keep you at the table, and the many leadership in the community as well. We really encourage people to be checking those websites, which i know it sounds like a simple thing, but we are upgrading our ability to really give much more realtime information. The park leadership is strengthening, and right now, we have a very good person there who is leading a team that is very focused on this. So, they will be even more transparent about the daytoday operations, particularly the way things change fast at lake mead. Absolutely. Well, thank you, and we look forward to working with you and having been through the process of closing, i hope we can Work Together to prevent that should the drought continue in that manner in the future. Thank you. Mr. Reynolds thanks for mentioning the staff. Were going to go to the gentleman from minnesota and we are going to take a short recess. Mr. Stoller, you are recognized. Thank you very much, mr. Chair and Ranking Member stansberry for holding this hearing as well as allowing me the opportunity to waive on. Minnesotas eighth Congressional District is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes you can find in our country. It is home to two very Important Properties in the National Parks system, voyagers National Park and the Grand PortageNational Monument. Voyagers National Park is a crown jewel in our National Parks system that showcases the iconic northern minnesota landscapes. Each year, thousands enjoy the Outdoor Recreation opportunities that exist in every season, and voyagers National Park is also unique within the National Parks system as it is largely made up of lakes, streams, and wetlands rather than land. Deputy director reynolds, first off, thank you for your support and service to our National Park systems throughout your career. I appreciate that. I want to ask you to whom do our National Parks belong to . Mr. Reynolds the people, right . So do you believe our National Parks and the National Parks system policies that govern these parks should serve the best interests of the American People . Mr. Reynolds of course. You believe the policies that govern our National Parks should enable or limit access for americans . Mr. Reynolds well, i think the policies need to follow the law, right, for what the park was set up to do and meet the mission of the organic act which is to provide for future generations as well as for enjoyment. We have the word enjoyment in the organic act. So, i cant read between the lines. Do you believe the policies that govern our National Parks should enable or limit access for america . Mr. Reynolds i think that we should be able to have parks open and as accessible as possible within the law. I agree. I have unfortunately heard time and time again for my constituents that the National Park service is cozies and voyagers National Park along with other parks around this country limit their use and enjoyment of these incredible resources. The policies in place hinder our way of life in northern minnesota and limit our ability to recreate responsibly in the lands and waters at voyagers. This april, the National Park service proposed a frozen lake surface access and use plan for voyagers National Park, which does not have the best interest of my constituents and impedes their access to the sacred public space that they have enjoyed for decades. I have heard from many constituents who are angry, upset, and frustrated about the plan as written, and i stand with the constituents. The proposed plan as written would block how my constituents have responsibly recreated in the park for many, many years. Limiting access to the park via snowmobiles, tracked atvs, or small suvs outfit with tracks. As you stated, the National ParkService Policy should enable and expand access, not limit it. I fear that this proposed plan is simply an attempt by this administration to keep our public lands offlimits. I have a couple questions. The Public Comment period on the frozen use plan at voyagers National Park closed on june 3. When does the National Park service plan to finalize its plan . Mr. Reynolds i will follow up with a date because i actually dont know that, just to be honest with you, but i do know that usually if it was just june 3, it is a few months for the staff and the contractor or whatever. So we will make sure that voyagers is telling everybody what their status is but i think , you have not missed anything. I appreciate that. Will a final plan go into effect before the upcoming winter . Mr. Reynolds i will also confirm that but i would guess that we are cutting it pretty close and we need more time than that. But we will talk to the park. Can you commit that the Parks Service plan will not limit access to my constituents . Mr. Reynolds i dont know those particulars. I do know that there are safety concerns about that the park was concerned about the weight of certain vehicles or where vehicles could go, but i dont think that there is there was a particular stance taken on prevention. With the last 30 seconds, i respectfully request that you provide a full response back to this committee in writing and as you just alluded to. I appreciate that. Our northern minnesota economy is largely based on outdoor tourism, and the recreational multi use of our public lands and waters at voyagers National Park has been an economic driver for our communities for decades. I will continue to do all that i can to ensure it remains that way and access is available for the folks. I look forward to receiving your full and complete response to these questions, and i implore you to respect the desires of the constituents that i serve and ensure the finalized frozen use plan at voyagers National Park does not limit our access to recreate within the park and it supports our way of life. And i yield back. Thank you. Mr. Reynolds thank you for bringing it up. I think the gentleman. The Ranking Member from illinois, mr. Quigley is recognized for five minutes. This morning i wasnt on the committee, and i am now the acting Ranking Member. What a country. [laughter] director, thank you for your service. Let me ask you a few quick questions. Volunteers are great. They do an amazing job, but theres limits of what they can do, correct, working in the parks . Mr. Reynolds yes, yeah. And they have to be managed as well with hired personnel, correct . Mr. Reynolds right, for safety reasons. Lets talk just a minute about the problems with retaining and attaining personnel. Ive been to the National Park tours that i lead in the last eight years. One of the things that i talked a lot about is housing, and given the proposed cuts we are talking about and appropriation bills, this can only exacerbate the problem. Can you tell us a little bit about why the housing crunch among workers is an issue and how serious the problem is . Mr. Reynolds yes, congressman. Thanks for bringing that up. I really appreciate it. It is probably one of the number one worries and concerns coming to us from park employees and our superintendents. Part of it is what is happening in the nation, the housing there is general housing shortages everywhere, probably in some of your communities as well, or affordably issues if they are on the market. And that is what we are experiencing. Many of our areas of our parks are in beautiful places that people want to live in, so the housing shortage and or affordability is what is impacting us. We have about 7 million geared toward housing with some requests i think to bump that up to 14 million in the coming years to try to really invest in developing either housing or some agreements with private sector for housing. That is Something Else that we are interested in leasing. So we are trying to reinvest in our housing allotment or convert buildings to housing as we can, or as i mentioned, im thinking of a couple of parks that are working on something with the local community. Its an issue for retaining and obtaining new personnel to do all the things were talking about including access to the parks . Mr. Reynolds thats right. All right. I was in denali on one of these climate tours recently, and there is no access to half of the park because of a landslide taking out the only road there. So, i appreciate and respect that we are very concerned about access to our National Parks, but the problem up there is permafrost is melting. The land is moving much, much faster than it was. We are talking 15. 5 inches a day. No road can withstand that. This is all because of the aspects and reactions to Climate Change. So, if you can, reference what other issues involving Climate Change affect access, safety, and cost of running the National Parks . Mr. Reynolds yeah, it is getting more complicated. We are seeing increased fires, which we have all experienced, the smoke from our neighbors to the north this year in canada. We are seeing the sea level rise. We are seeing storms that are strange. They are heavier rains than we have seen in certain locations or wind storms and damage. Yes, costs are definitely impacted. The disaster supplementals as you showed in the chart are going up each year as we deal with either drought in the west or an overabundance of waters in the east or a storm impact. The way you are describing it, pretty rocks is a geologic phenomena that we are struggling with. And a 100 million bridge to get to half of the park. Mr. Reynolds very expensive. As you say, it is a huge part, and that is the main. Theres only one way in and one way out. Sure, and access generally, not talking about one particular park. You mentioned reasons why there might be limited access to areas of our National Parks. Safety is certainly one of them. I would imagine that areas that are being restored or particularly sensitive and fragile for lack of a better word, are protected and limited access to give them a break and a chance to restore themselves and because as you said, is not just the weight of some vehicles but the destructive capabilities of those vehicles in areas that are particularly fragile. Mr. Reynolds yeah, thank you. We pride ourselves on working as hard as we can, as i mentioned a few minutes ago, to maintain the use and enjoyment of parks but we also are preserving them and conserving them for future generations. Sometimes management decisions are made and that is often wide why certain permits may limit how many People Per Day we allow it in a certain area because they have measured it for science with trampling or loss of vegetation and things like that. Some of those things just but superintendents as a general rule try not to block off entire portions of parks. Issues with access to parks or being able to do it, how much of that is related to a shortage in personnel . Mr. Reynolds we are managing with what weve got, but we are down about 15 in the last numbers that i saw from a few years ago since 2011. We are down 15 . I am here here and there are not people who can man the front gates. Mr. Reynolds as Many American companies and or government agencies, we dont have as many applicants certain jobs. Theres a lot of competition. We have a Recruitment Team that the park service does not used to have that is working hard to find smart, capable, Diverse People to get back out there. Thank you, sir. Mr. Reynolds, would you be able to stay for a while . We are going to take a quick recess. Mr. Reynolds you bet. We will take a quick recess and be back. Mr. Reynolds see you soon