Sponsors (7)
Introduced December 10, 2025 by Catherine Marie Cortez Masto · Last progress December 10, 2025
The bill increases equitable, no-cost access to public lands on several nationally observed days—boosting family recreation, veteran recognition, and civic engagement—while trading off recurring fee revenue, added crowding and environmental strain, and operational challenges for park managers.
Low- and middle-income individuals, parents and families (including children and youth) and veterans gain free access to federal parks and waters on six annual, holiday-aligned days, reducing out-of-pocket recreation costs and improving equitable access to public lands.
Aligning fee-free days with national observances (MLK Day, Juneteenth, National Park Week, Veterans Day, etc.) and allowing the Secretary discretion to add days promotes civic recognition, public engagement, volunteerism, and broader public support for conservation and stewardship of public lands.
Taxpayers and park budgets may face lost recreation-fee revenue on mandated fee-free days, reducing funds available for maintenance and services or shifting costs to general appropriations.
Concentrating visitors on the specified fee-free holidays will increase crowding and strain facilities, degrading visitor experience and causing additional wear or environmental harm to park resources.
Mandated fee-free days and predictable crowd spikes complicate operational planning for park managers (unpredictable volunteer turnout, uneven maintenance scheduling), making it harder to manage staffing and upkeep efficiently.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires the federal land management Secretary to provide six annual fee‑free admission/use days at Federal recreational lands and waters: Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday; the first day of National Park Week; Juneteenth; Great American Outdoors Day; National Public Lands Day; and Veterans Day. The bill converts existing discretionary fee‑free days into mandatory annual days while preserving the Secretary’s ability to add more fee‑free days. Also includes findings saying fee‑free days promote community service, national pride, and volunteerism. It does not create new funding or other program authorizations.