Chiricahua is now the 64th U.S. national park

Chiricahua National Monument in southeastern Arizona became Chiricahua National Park on Oct. 20, 2026, when President Donald Trump signed the Chiricahua National Park Act. The site is reported as the nation’s 64th national park and Arizona’s fourth.

Does the new designation add land? No. The act sets the park’s boundaries at the same boundaries the monument had on the day the law took effect. The National Park Service describes the site as about 12,000 acres. Dividing that estimate by 640 acres per square mile gives about 18.75 square miles, consistent with Associated Press reporting that the area is about 19 square miles. The change is the site’s name and designation, not an expansion.

Chiricahua was first protected as a national monument in 1924, more than a century before the redesignation. The Washington Post reported that it is the first new U.S. national park in six years. The new status therefore changes how the existing site is designated without creating a larger park footprint.

What the law requires for Tribal access i

The act directs the Interior secretary to protect traditional cultural and religious sites and consult with Tribes under applicable law. It also provides for Tribal members to access those sites for traditional cultural and customary uses. The park is within the historical territory of the Chiricahua Apache Tribes, according to Associated Press reporting.

The law allows the secretary, at a Tribe’s request, to temporarily close specific areas to general public use to support those traditional activities. Any closure must cover the smallest practicable area and last only for the minimum period necessary. This is authority for limited, temporary closures; the act does not itself declare a specific area closed.

The access provisions follow a reported request made before the law passed. In 2024 congressional testimony, San Carlos Apache Deputy Attorney General Justine Jimmie asked for uninterrupted access to the site, the Associated Press reported. That is a specific position attributed to Jimmie, not evidence that all Tribes or Tribal governments share the same view.

Funding and passage i

The act makes funds available for the former monument available for the park. That provision carries the existing funding authority forward; it does not specify a separate funding increase. The designation alone also does not establish a change in staffing or visitation.

Congress approved the measure by a House voice vote and Senate unanimous consent, according to news reports. Those procedures do not amount to a recorded individual vote by every member. Reporting described the measure as having bipartisan support.

The Interior Department and National Park Service administer the park under the act, including its requirements for consultation, site protection and traditional-use access. The redesignation is in effect under the signed law.