Chiricahua becomes America's 64th national park, first in six years

A landscape of towering rhyolite spires in southeastern Arizona — known to the Chiricahua Apache as the Land of Standing-Up Rocks and to early settlers as the Wonderland of Rocks — is now a national park. President Donald Trump signed the Chiricahua National Park Act on October 20, making the 12,000-acre site the country's 64th national park and the first to be created in six years, since West Virginia's New River Gorge in 2020.

The bill passed Congress with bipartisan support, converting what had been Chiricahua National Monument — protected since 1924 — into Arizona's fourth national park, joining the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Saguaro. The park's boundaries, land uses, and National Park Service management remain unchanged under the new law. What changes is the designation itself, which advocates say will bring greater national recognition and economic opportunity to a remote corner of Cochise County about 120 miles southeast of Tucson.

Make no mistake, this is not just another bill…This is a legacy aspect for this region and a defining moment for our state and the entire region.— Juan Ciscomani, U.S. Representative from Arizona

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum traveled to the park in Cochise County for a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside Willcox Mayor Greg Hancock and Ciscomani. Burgum framed the redesignation as an economic opportunity as much as a conservation milestone.

Chiricahua's towering rock spires, rich Apache heritage and remarkable biodiversity make it one of America's most extraordinary landscapes. This new designation will shine a national spotlight on one of Arizona's hidden gems, creating opportunities to welcome more visitors, strengthen local economies and share this incredible landscape with more Americans.— Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior

The park draws roughly 70,000 visitors a year — ranking 254th out of nearly 400 Park Service sites nationwide — a figure local officials expect to climb now that it carries the national park name. Visitors to the monument spent $3.7 million in surrounding gateway communities in 2017, according to the National Park Service. Willcox Mayor Greg Hancock said the upgrade opens the door to new businesses and investment across southern Arizona.

The park sits within the Chiricahua Mountains, one of several 'sky island' ranges that rise from the surrounding desert. It sits at the convergence of four major ecosystems — the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Madres — supporting exceptional biodiversity. Its signature geological features are hoodoos: rhyolite rock pinnacles formed more than 27 million years ago by a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. The word 'Chiricahua' derives from an Opata word meaning 'wild turkey,' a reference to the animals the mountain range was originally known for, according to the National Park Service.

The site carries deep human history. The area has evidence of thousands of years of use, from prehistoric peoples through the Chiricahua Apache — nomadic tribes who resisted European settlement until surrendering to U.S. troops in 1886 and being forcibly removed to the San Carlos Apache reservation. After the Civil War, Buffalo Soldiers, Black U.S. troops, were stationed at the site during a government campaign against Apache leaders Geronimo and Cochise. The new park legislation preserves tribal access for traditional ceremonies and allows temporary public closures to protect those cultural uses, though specifics have not yet been decided, according to Ciscomani.

The legislative path was long. At least five similar measures were introduced in Congress since 2016 without advancing to a full vote. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly first introduced the Chiricahua National Park Act in 2021. The version that ultimately passed gained momentum when Democratic Sens. Kelly and Ruben Gallego sponsored companion legislation in the Senate in January that was identical to Ciscomani's House bill — a Republican from Tucson who first introduced his version in 2023.

Making Chiricahua a national park has been a priority of mine since I first came to the Senate, so I'm thrilled this day has finally arrived. A bipartisan effort from the start, this is a win for the communities in southeastern Arizona and for everyone who worked to protect this extraordinary place so our kids and our grandkids can enjoy it.— Mark Kelly, U.S. Senator from Arizona

The celebration, however, arrives at a complicated moment for the National Park Service. The agency's workforce has dropped by nearly 3,000 jobs, and the Park Service carries a $24 billion backlog of deferred maintenance projects nationwide. Maintenance projects at Chiricahua itself were ranked 'low priority' by officials who have focused instead on projects favored by the White House, including repairs to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Trump has also redirected entrance fees from some parks to public works projects in Washington, D.C.

Right now, our national parks as a whole are under threat in a way that they've never been before.— Sanober Mirza, Arizona Programs Manager, National Parks Conservation Association

The Association of National Park Rangers, based in Marana, Arizona, supported the upgrade but warned the park will likely need more staffing and infrastructure investment to handle a surge in visitors. 'Like a lot of other areas, it is most likely understaffed,' said Bill Wade, a retired park superintendent and the association's executive director. Ciscomani, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, pledged to secure adequate funding. Burgum pointed to a potential legislative vehicle: a proposed Great American Outdoors Act 2.0, which he said Congress could take up in November or December and which he described as potentially representing the largest capital expenditures ever directed to the Park Service.

While its name is changing, our commitment remains the same: protecting this remarkable landscape and its cultural heritage while providing opportunities for visitors to experience and enjoy it for generations to come.— Jessica Bowron, Comptroller and Acting Director, National Park Service

Why it matters — The redesignation is expected to boost tourism and economic activity in a remote corner of Arizona, but it arrives as the National Park Service faces its deepest staffing cuts in memory and a $24 billion maintenance backlog — raising real questions about whether the new park can deliver on its promise.

Reported by theguardian.com, thehill.com, deseret.com, doi.gov, news.azpm.org, tucson.com