Camp Nelson National Monument Set to Expand by 132 Acres and Drop the Word 'Heritage'

The Camp Nelson National Monument Boundary Expansion Act is a straightforward piece of legislation that essentially does two things: it adds more protected land to a significant historical site and cleans up the site’s official name.

The Land Grab (For a Good Cause)

First, this bill gives the Secretary of the Interior the authorization to acquire—translation: buy—approximately 132 acres of land in Nicholasville, Kentucky, specifically outlined on a map dated April 29, 2025. This isn’t just any random patch of dirt; once acquired, this land will be folded directly into the existing Camp Nelson National Monument. For the average person, this means more historical ground is officially protected from development, ensuring that a larger piece of the story—Camp Nelson was a vital Civil War-era supply depot and a major recruitment and training center for African American soldiers—is preserved for future generations. The only real-world friction point here is for the current landowners within that 132-acre parcel. While the bill only authorizes the purchase (meaning it should be a voluntary sale), if you happen to own one of those lots, your property is now officially on the federal government’s shopping list for historical preservation.

Dropping the 'Heritage' Tag

The second major function of the Act is administrative cleanup. It formally changes the monument’s name by amending the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. The official title is being shortened from “Camp Nelson Heritage National Monument” to the simpler “Camp Nelson National Monument.” This might seem like a minor detail, but in the world of federal bureaucracy, names matter. The bill ensures that this change is automatically applied everywhere—every map, every regulation, every official federal document that currently uses the old name will now be legally treated as if it says the new, shorter name. This kind of standardization saves future headaches and ensures clarity for historians, park staff, and visitors alike. Think of it as a mandatory, instant software update for all federal records concerning Camp Nelson.