America Just Got Its 64th National Park, and Trump Signed It. Now Chiricahua Needs the Upkeep to Match the Name
President Trump signed the bipartisan Chiricahua National Park Act on Oct. 20, turning a 1924 monument in southeastern Arizona into the nation's 64th national park. In our view, it is a proud win for rural America and the 250th anniversary year, and the maintenance backlog is the next test.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Chief Opinion Editor | October 21, 2026 | 6-min read On Tuesday morning, America had 63 national parks. By Tuesday afternoon, it had 64. President Trump signed the Chiricahua National Park Act on Oct. 20, 2026, redesignating Chiricahua National Monument, a landscape of towering rock spires in southeastern Arizona, as Chiricahua National Park [1][2][3]. "This morning, there were only 63 flagship national parks in America, but today, thanks to President Trump's signature, we have 64," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said at the celebration near Willcox [4]. In our view, this is the kind of quiet, bipartisan win that deserves loud applause, along with a clear-eyed plan to care for what the nation now holds under a grander name. Key Takeaways President Trump signed H.R. 6380, the Chiricahua National Park Act, on Oct. 20, 2026 [1]. Chiricahua becomes the nation's 64th national park and Arizona's fourth [4][5]. The park keeps the monument's existing boundaries, about 12,000 acres, and the funds already available to it [2][3]. The law protects traditional cultural and religious sites and guarantees access for tribal members [2][6]. The inconvenient part: Chiricahua is waiting on funding for maintenance projects, a point park advocates raised on signing day [4][5]. Before Chiricahua, the most recent national park redesignation was New River