The US just got its first new national park in six years

A bill signed Tuesday by President Trump converted Chiricahua National Monument into the country’s 64th national park. Sometimes called the “Land of Standing-Up Rocks,” Chiricahua is known for its striking geological rock spires.

The area was first protected as a national monument in 1924 by Calvin Coolidge, but the new national park designation gives Chiricahua the federal government’s highest protection because the legal distinction requires congressional approval for any changes.

(Photo courtesy of National Park Service)

The designation as a national park comes on the heels of actions by Trump in July that reduced the size of two national monuments in Utah — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments — following efforts in his first term to open the sites to oil drilling, uranium mining and other development.

Additionally, a Justice Department document shows that Trump is looking to overturn 90-year-old guidance that stated presidents cannot revoke a monument’s status. Government officials have also indicated that Trump is looking closely at reducing other monuments in Arizona, California, and New Mexico.

Chiricahua’s new national park designation also places the area under the management of the National Park Service, which has had its budget drastically cut by Trump in order to fund several vanity projects in Washington, D.C. However, it also directs the Interior Department to protect traditional religious sites, dictates that tribal members must be granted access, and helps preserve and protect the 12,000-acre boundaries as public land.

If you’d like to visit, Chiricahua National Park is about 34 miles southeast of Willcox, Arizona, or about 82 miles west of Lordsburg, New Mexico.