SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA — Congress passed legislation to redesignate Chiricahua National Monument as a national park. The bill is expected to be sent to the White House for President Donald Trump's signature.

If signed, the site would become the 64th U.S. national park and the first new addition since New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia was designated in 2021. It would also be Arizona's fourth national park.

The Senate passed the legislation on September 30 by unanimous consent, following approval by the House of Representatives in a voice vote in March. Rep. Juan Ciscomani is the Republican sponsor of the Chiricahua National Park Act, and Sen. Mark Kelly is one of the authors of the legislation.

"We’re the Grand Canyon state, so we know about this kind of landscape," Ciscomani said. "It’s hard to compare anything to the Grand Canyon, but Chiricahua holds its own."

Kelly added that the designation would protect the area for future generations. "Chiricahua is one of Arizona’s most extraordinary places," he said. "Designating it as our state’s fourth national park will protect this remarkable landscape for generations and bring new visitors and economic opportunities to southeastern Arizona."

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost to establish the park at less than $500,000. The Chiricahua National Park Act does not expand the site's area, which covers 19 square miles (49 square kilometers), but only changes its designation from a national monument to a national park.

President Calvin Coolidge designated the site a national monument in 1924 under the Antiquities Act, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the monument in 1938. The site receives approximately 60,000 visitors annually, and about 85% of the park is designated as wilderness.

The Chiricahua National Park Act includes provisions to ensure tribal access to traditional cultural and religious sites, including the ability to temporarily close areas to the public to protect these uses. San Carlos Apache tribal leaders did not take a formal position on the national park designation.

Justine Jimmie, Deputy Attorney General for the San Carlos Apache Tribe, expressed concerns about tourism impacts in previous testimony. "National parks have become so packed with tourists," she said. "In contrast, we go to our cultural areas in what are now parks to seek sanctuary, pray, and perform ceremonies."

The site is located within the historical territory of the Chiricahua Apache tribes. Apache tribes surrendered to U.S. troops in 1886 and were forcibly removed to the San Carlos Apache reservation. Buffalo Soldiers, Black U.S. troops, were stationed at the site after the Civil War during campaigns against Apache leaders Geronimo and Cochise.

National Park Service officials declined to say if additional staff would be hired or if any immediate changes were planned. Maintenance projects at Chiricahua were ranked a “low priority” by National Park Service officials who have instead focused on projects wanted by the White House including repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.