Sponsors (4)
The bill conveys two small parcels to Mississippi to enable local improvements and shift maintenance costs to the State, delivering better local access and reduced federal management burden while reducing federal stewardship and creating risks to conservation and park resources if state development or restrictions are inadequate.
Park visitors and nearby rural communities will get improved parking, trails, and interpretive facilities that enhance educational experiences at Vicksburg National Military Park.
State of Mississippi and local governments can develop two small parcels (≈1.69 and 5.74 acres) to expand public access and visitor amenities at Vicksburg National Military Park.
U.S. taxpayers and federal land managers will see reduced federal maintenance and management responsibility for those parcels because the land is conveyed to the State at no cost.
Park visitors and adjacent natural resources face a risk of physical degradation of visitor experience and park resources if State development is insufficiently restricted or enforcement is weak.
Park visitors, conservation interests, and programming could be constrained because the State gains control of land now managed for federal park conservation and programming decisions.
Taxpayers and national-park stewardship could be harmed by the loss of a small portion of federally protected land and the precedent this conveyance could set for future transfers out of federal protection.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Transfers ~7.43 acres inside Vicksburg National Military Park to Mississippi, removes them from the park boundary, and limits use to public-access and visitor-enhancement consistent with the park mission.
Transfers two specific parcels totaling about 7.43 acres that lie inside the boundary of Vicksburg National Military Park from federal ownership to the State of Mississippi by quitclaim deed at no cost, and removes those parcels from the park boundary. The conveyed lands must be used to improve public access and visitor experience consistent with the park’s interpretive mission, and the Secretary of the Interior may impose use restrictions and must ensure uses do not adversely affect park resources or visitor experience. The conveyance is tied to maps dated September 2024 that identify the parcels. No funds are appropriated and the boundary change takes effect when the Secretary completes the conveyance and updates the park boundary.
Introduced July 16, 2025 by Bennie Thompson · Last progress March 17, 2026