Chiricahua becomes a national park: Arizona monument redesignated under new law
Arizona's Chiricahua National Monument is now a national park. H.R. 6380, the Chiricahua National Park Act, redesignates the Chiricahua National Monument in the State of Arizona as Chiricahua National Park. The bill was signed by the President on October 20, 2026, and became Public Law No. 119-133.
The redesignation does not change the ownership or management of the area. The boundaries of the national park are the boundaries of the Chiricahua National Monument as of the date of enactment, and any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, or other record of the United States to the Chiricahua National Monument is to be considered a reference to the Chiricahua National Park. Any funds available for the monument remain available for the park. Supporters have described the change as making Chiricahua the country's 64th national park and the fourth national park located in Arizona.
The law also addresses tribal cultural and religious sites. It directs the Department of the Interior to protect traditional cultural and religious sites within the park, to temporarily close specific areas of the park to protect traditional tribal activities, and to consult with Indian tribes in accordance with applicable laws. On the request of an Indian Tribe, the Secretary of the Interior may temporarily close to general public use one or more specific areas of the park to protect traditional cultural and customary uses by members of that tribe; any such closure must be limited to the smallest practicable area for the minimum period necessary for the traditional cultural and religious activities. According to the committee report, this section does not place any new, affirmative requirements on the National Park Service, but rather requires it to comply with existing statutory standards for the protection of tribal resources within Park Service units.
The measure drew bipartisan and local support as it moved through Congress. It was sponsored by Representative Juan Ciscomani, a Republican of Arizona, with Representative Greg Stanton, a Democrat of Arizona, as a cosponsor. On the House floor, Representative Rob Wittman of Virginia rose in support of the bill, calling it a "simple, bipartisan bill" and saying that elevating the site to full national park status would "raise its profile and support increased tourism" without expanding its boundaries or changing its management. At a December 2025 subcommittee hearing, Willcox Mayor Greg Hancock testified in support of the bill, saying the redesignation was "vital to the economic future of our region and the state of Arizona" and would bring tourism revenue to the rural economy. The Department of the Interior, in a statement for the record, said it defers to Congress on the bill and that redesignating the monument as a national park is consistent with the nomenclature patterns of the National Park System.
The bill followed a conventional path to enactment. It was introduced on December 3, 2025, by Representative Ciscomani and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and was reported favorably, with amendments, by that committee. The House passed the bill, as amended, by voice vote on March 16, 2026, and the Senate passed it without amendment by unanimous consent on September 30, 2026, before it was signed into law on October 20, 2026.
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