Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.

Fact check: Has Ryan Zinke repeatedly voted to block new national parks?

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Fact Check by Ballotpedia-Bold.png
Grand Canyon - Hopi Point.JPG

January 9, 2017
By Sara Reynolds

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke (R-Montana) to head the Department of the Interior (DOI). Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, reacted to Zinke’s nomination: “Mr. Zinke has repeatedly voted to block efforts to designate new national parks that would diversify the National Parks System.”[1]

Has Zinke repeatedly voted to block efforts to designate new national parks? No.

Zinke is one of 29 co-sponsors of HR 3946, the Protecting Local Communities from Executive Overreach Act. This bill limits the President’s ability to designate or expand national monuments, not national parks.[2] Zinke has also voted on amendments to bills which would limit funds for the designation of new national monuments, not national parks.[3][4]

Background

Zinke is a Republican Congressman representing Montana’s at-large Congressional District. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee. He was nominated for Secretary of the Interior on December 13, 2016. Zinke is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and served in the Montana State Senate from 2009 to 2013.[5]

A member of the presidential Cabinet, the Secretary of the Interior heads the Interior Department (DOI), which manages both natural and cultural resources. The DOI includes the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.[6]

What is a national park?

There are more than 20 different designations for the over 400 “units” that constitute the National Park System, including national park, national monument, national preserve, national historic site, national recreation area, and national battlefield, among others.[7] No statute defines the various designations, but “national parks” are “generally large, diverse areas with outstanding natural features and ecological resources.” Activities such as mining or hunting are often restricted there.[8]

Units of the National Park System can only be established by Congress, with one exception.[7] The Antiquities Act gives the president authority to designate “national monuments,” which are “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” situated on federal lands.[9] They are “smaller and less diverse than national parks.”[8]

Since 2009, President Obama has designated 16 new national monuments. The most recently designated national monuments include: the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Penobscot County, Maine; the Bear Ears Monument in San Juan County, Utah; and the Gold Butte National Monument in Clark County, Nevada.[10][11][12]

Zinke’s voting record

Eric Bontrager, senior communications manager for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), told Ballotpedia via email that Pierno’s statement about Zinke referred to "votes for legislation to weaken the president’s ability to designate national monuments under the Antiquities Act during the 114th Congress," including his co-sponsorship of HR 3946, the Protecting Local Communities from Executive Overreach Act.[13]

HR 3946 would have added new requirements for the designation of a national monument, including the agreement of the governor, local governments, and wildlife and land management authorities affected by the designation. Moreover, a declaration would have also required the written consent of private-property owners whose land was affected by the designation, and barred increased funding for the fiscal year or a monument designation to an area measuring more than 5,000 acres. Finally, the bill prohibited the creation or expansion of any national monument in certain counties in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, or Utah.[2]

The National Parks Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) affiliated with the NPCA, also cites Zinke’s 2015 vote in favor of Amendment 597 of HR 2822, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016.[14] The amendment would have prohibited the use of appropriated funds to designate national monuments under the Antiquities Act in areas with significant local opposition.[15] The amendment passed 221-206, but the bill was not signed into law.[3]

The National Parks Action Fund also cites HR 5538 as further evidence of Zinke’s purported efforts to block the designation of new national parks. Section 453 of the DOI appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017 would have prevented funds from being used to designate a national monument under the Antiquities Act in specific counties of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Maine. Zinke voted against Amendment 1312, which would have removed section 453. The amendment failed, leaving Section 453 intact. HR 5538 passed the House and was sent to the Senate, where it was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.[4]

114th Congress national parks designations

During the 114th Congress, three bills were introduced in the House to designate national parks:

  • HR 3619, Rock Creek National Park, Washington, DC.[16]
  • HR 6190, Chiricahua National Park, Arizona.[17]
  • HR 6291, Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana.[18]

All were referred to the Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Federal Lands.[16][17][18]

Conclusion

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-Montana) for Secretary of the Interior in December 2016. Responding to Zinke’s nomination, National Parks Conservation Association president and CEO, Theresa Pierno, said, “Mr. Zinke has repeatedly voted to block efforts to designate new national parks that would diversify the National Parks System.”[1]

This is false. Zinke did not cast any votes to block the designation of new national parks. Zinke was a co-sponsor of HR 3946, which would have limited presidential authority to create new national monuments, which are distinct from national parks.[2] In 2015 and 2016, Zinke also voted on two amendments in separate bills related to national monuments, not national parks.[3][4]

See also


Fact Check- 1000 x 218 px.png

Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2025, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to revaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about fact-checking, click here.

Sources and Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bozeman Daily Chronicle, "Environmental groups react to Zinke as interior secretary," December 13, 2016
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "H.R. 3946 - Protecting Local Communities from Executive Overreach Act," accessed December 27, 2016
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Congress.gov, "H.R. 2822 - Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016," accessed December 23, 2016
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Congress.gov, "H.R. 5538 - the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act," accessed December 23, 2016
  5. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Ryan Zinke," accessed December 21, 2016
  6. ↑ Ballotpedia, "U.S. Department of the Interior," accessed January 3, 2017
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Congressional Research Service, "National Park System: Establishing New Units," April 25, 2013
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Congressional Research Service, "National Park System: What Do the Different Park Titles Signify?" February 20, 2013
  9. ↑ National Park Service, "Antiquities Act of 1906," accessed January 2, 2017
  10. ↑ National Park Service, "Recent Changes in the National Park System," August 24, 2016
  11. ↑ The White House, "Presidential Proclamation — Establishment of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument," August 24, 2016
  12. ↑ The White House, "Statement by the President on the Designation of Bear Ears National Monument and Gold Butte National Monument," December 28, 2016
  13. ↑ Sara Reynolds, "Email communication with Eric Bontrager, senior communications manager for the National Parks Conservation Association," December 27, 2016
  14. ↑ National Parks Action Fund, "National Parks Action Fund Congressional Scorecard," September 28, 2016
  15. ↑ Congress.gov, "H. Amdt. 597 to H.R. 2822," accessed December 23, 2016
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Congress.gov, "H.R. 3619 - Rock Creek National Park Act of 2015," accessed January 3, 2017
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Congress.gov, "H.R. 6190 - Chiricahua National Park Act," accessed January 3, 2017
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Congress.gov, "H.R. 6291 - Indiana Dunes National Park Act," accessed January 3, 2017

Contact

We welcome comments from our readers. If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for a claim that you think we should look into, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. You can also contact us on Facebook and Twitter.

More from Fact Check by Ballotpedia

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Facebook.png
Twitter.png


BP logo.png
Fact Check- 1000 x 218 px.png
About fact-checking • Contact us • Staff • Ballotpedia
Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Fact_check/Has_Ryan_Zinke_repeatedly_voted_to_block_new_national_parks&oldid=7765838"