This week the Obama Administration began erecting metal barricades to keep families, veterans, school groups and visitors out of popular open-air monuments in Washington D.C. such as the Lincoln Memorial, which did not happen during the last government shutdown, and the World War II Memorial. The U.S. Park Service has also closed small businesses and non-profit operations that happen to… Read more »

This week the Obama Administration began erecting steel barricades to keep veterans, families and visitors out of popular open-air monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial and World War II Memorial. Despite the fact that these are open-air sites that are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and are only staffed by Park Rangers during certain hours of the day, the Obama… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following statement (as prepared for delivery) on the House floor calling on the Senate to act on common sense legislation to keep our National Parks open. “Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House passed and sent to the Senate a bipartisan bill to keep our National Parks open. Twenty-three Democrats joined with… Read more »

In an attempt to make the government shutdown as painful as possible, the Obama Administration yesterday chose to erect metal barricades around the World War II Memorial (an open air memorial that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) and stationed armed National Park Police to block World War II veterans from entering their memorial. It’s ironic that while our Nation’s heroes are met… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01) today sent a letter to National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis regarding the Obama Administration’s actions to restrict public access to the World War II Memorial and other open-air monuments, memorials and parks in Washington,… Read more »

Yesterday, the Obama Administration began selectively erecting barricades to keep visitors, including large groups of World War II veterans, from visiting popular monuments such as the World War II Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the National Mall. However, the Obama Administration is applying this policy inconsistently and choosing which memorials to block off and which to… Read more »

Dear Director Jarvis: Through this letter, the Committee on Natural Resources ("Committee") requests that the National Park Service ("Park Service") take steps as necessary to keep and not destroy documents related to the decision this week to restrict public access to the National World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings delivered the following statement (as prepared) on the House floor today in support of H.J.Res. __, Open Our National Parks and Museums Act: “Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this legislation to fund National Parks. No one wanted a government shut down and one of the unfortunate consequences is that millions of… Read more »

The Natural Resources Morning News Round-up: The Hill – Ben Geman: “GOP lawmaker warns Interior’s fracking rule could lead to cascade of new regs” Oregonian – Scott Learn: “Interior Department extends Chetco River gold mining withdrawal for five years” The Hill – Ben Geman: “Obama criticizes pro-Keystone pipeline jobs, gas price claims” New York Times – Norimitsu… Read more »

The National Park Service (NPS) is currently drafting a plan to determine the future of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park. Earlier this week, the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation heard from witnesses regarding this plan that could permanently remove several recreational amenities that have long been a staple for visitors to the Merced River floodplain.… Read more »