Sponsor
Becca Balint
Representative · D-VT
Representative · D-VT
The bill preserves and improves management, education, and visitor experience at the Marsh‑Billings‑Rockefeller area—supporting agricultural heritage and stewardship—while imposing potential costs, new land-use limits, and local uncertainties for some private landowners and taxpayers.
Visitors and local communities: official, clarified park boundaries and a publicly available boundary map improve transparency and help preserve historic and agricultural sites (Mansion, Billings Farm, King Farm) for recreation and education.
Rural residents and local economies: protecting Billings Farm, the Museum, and the working-farm landscape preserves agricultural heritage and supports tourism and local economic activity.
Farmers and forestry workers: the bill allows continued agricultural and forestry operations on acquired lands, maintaining customary livelihoods and productive land use.
Homeowners and nearby landowners: revised park boundaries or expanded Scenic Zone protections could impose new restrictions or federal oversight on private property and potentially reduce property values.
Taxpayers: land acquisitions and operating the Institute increase federal spending for the park and could require reallocations within NPS budgets or additional appropriations.
Homeowners, local governments, and planners: land purchases/transfers plus ambiguity over how the Secretary divides King Farm and how Scenic Zone rules will be applied create short-term uncertainty and can reduce land available for private uses.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Updates the park boundary and acquisition rules, requires King Farm access and authorizes working‑farm/conservation/education uses, and creates an NPS Stewardship Institute at the park.
Official title: To amend the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Establishment Act to expand the boundary of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in the State of Vermont, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 5, 2025 by Becca Balint · Last progress February 5, 2025
Revises the Marsh‑Billings‑Rockefeller National Historical Park statute to change the park boundary, clarify how the National Park Service may acquire lands within that boundary (including required access rights for the King Farm parcel), allow the acquired King Farm to be used for working‑farm, forestry, conservation, and education purposes, update language governing the park’s scenic zone, and create an NPS Stewardship Institute at the park to promote conservation stewardship, research, education, and partnership activities. The bill updates maps and acquisition authorities and establishes the Institute as a park program to provide workshops, research, and best‑practice exchange on stewardship and conservation.