Congress expands Mammoth Cave National Park by 551 acres
H.R. 3286 — Mammoth Cave National Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 2025 · Filed by Brett Guthrie (R-KY) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced May 8, 2025 · Hearing held
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What it does
This bill expands Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 551 acres of adjacent land for park inclusion. It also adjusts the existing $350,000 land-acquisition cap to account for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, allowing the park to acquire more land over time as prices rise.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is authorizing acquisition of land for a national park and indexing acquisition funding to inflation — a straightforward public-lands conservation measure with no private carve-outs or regulatory changes.
What the text implies
- Inflation indexing of the $350K cap may significantly increase annual acquisition budget over decades, potentially accelerating park expansion beyond current appropriations.
- The bill does not specify funding source for the 551-acre acquisition, leaving appropriations to future congressional action — expansion may not occur without separate budget authority.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill expands public parkland available for recreation and conservation, and indexes acquisition funding to inflation so the park can continue acquiring land as costs rise. No restrictions on citizen rights or access are imposed; the expansion serves the broad public interest in outdoor recreation and environmental preservation.
Named in the bill
Mammoth Cave National Park, Secretary of the Interior, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Edmonson County, Kentucky, Barren County, Kentucky, Act of June 5, 1942 (56 Stat. 319, chapter 341; 16 U.S.C. 404c–11)
Where it stands
5 cosponsors: 4 Republicans, 1 Democrats.
- May 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- May 8, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- Mar 18, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (878 characters) on Sep 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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