Fight to pass Big Bend National Park expansion bill continues 

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK — Legislative efforts initiated in 2020 to expand the boundaries of Big Bend National Park westward towards Terlingua will continue into 2025 following lawmakers’ failure to pass S.1059, the Big Bend National Park Boundary Adjustment Act, during the recently-concluded 118th Congressional Session.

S.1059 was introduced by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in 2023 and rolled into a larger public lands package along with 120-150 public lands and forestry bills in early December. While the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee then passed the package with unanimous consent, it failed to make it past the House, meaning the years-long effort to adjust the park’s boundaries — requiring an act of Congress — will continue in the 119th Congressional Session. 

Loren Riemer, executive director of the Big Bend Conservancy, the organization working to fundraise and acquire land within the proposed 6,100-acre boundary adjustment that it will then donate to the National Park Service, said it was not the outcome they were hoping for, but they intend to hit the ground running to see the bill passed this session. 

“Unfortunately, we were left on the cutting room floor as the Congress wrapped up. I guess if there’s some solace, it’s that there were quite a few other land bills that shared that fate,” Riemer said. “Obviously, there will be a new landscape with the 119th Congress, but we’re exploring how to re-engage and reinvigorate our efforts around this.” 

The conservancy, a small nonprofit, worked with lobbyists to try and see the bill passed and partnered with several organizations in addition to local stakeholders. The fact that the boundary adjustment bill is in for another two-year journey though the chambers of Congress — for the third time — is unfortunate, Riemer said, especially considering its purpose is to protect and preserve vital natural resources, including the Terlingua Creek watershed. (Land acquisitions will not involve eminent domain, and there are no maintenance costs associated with the new land.) 

“It’s unfortunate that something that is so universally positive, not only for the conservation of ecologically critical lands, but also for the extended use of Texas generations to come, has been such a marathon,” Riemer said. “One of our marching orders going forward will be ensuring that elected officials know that the people of Texas think that it’s important to protect these lands.”  

Cary Dupuy, Texas regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), said their Washington, D.C. staff was working up until the last minute to try and push public lands bills, including the Big Bend expansion initiative, through. Other bills to create or expand public recreation areas included the Chesapeake National Recreation Area Act and the Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act. 

Dupuy said the fact that the public lands package passed the Senate is a good sign moving forward, as is NPCA’s successful efforts to secure co-sponsors for the House version of the Big Bend bill with support from U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales. She hopes that energy will continue in the next congressional session, she said.

“Each year that it’s been filed, we see it move further along in the process and more support behind it,” Dupuy said. “I think lots of people see it as a priority, and it’s going to be one of those topics that they’re working with our advocates all across the country to move forward to make sure it’s on people’s radar.” 

Dupuy said NPCA is already in talks about getting the bill reintroduced. How the Big Bend National Park Boundary Adjustment Act proceeds will be determined by the priorities of the new Congress. It is possible that the larger public lands package that came together late last session will still exist in the new session, but the bill may also go back to being a one-off as it was when it was first introduced, Riemer said. 

In the meantime, Big Bend Conservancy is continuing to acquire more land in addition to the existing 3,377 acres it currently owns within the 6,100-acre proposed boundary adjustment. “We continue to be in close conversations with several additional land holders and look forward to closing on some additional pieces of property within a boundary adjustment area in the months ahead,” Riemer said.

Other goals for the organization in 2025 include sustainability and accessibility projects to improve the efficiency of the park’s landfill and install an ADA-compliant viewing platform at Sotol Vista.