Land Manager Housing Bill Gives NPS Power to Buy Land Off-Park and Boosts Local Hiring Until 2030

The Land Manager Housing and Workforce Improvement Act of 2025 is a serious attempt to fix a problem that’s been hitting our national parks and forests hard: the lack of affordable housing for the people who actually work there. If you’ve noticed parks struggling to stay staffed, this bill is the government trying to find the money and the land to build some employee housing.

The Land Grab: Buying Real Estate Outside the Park Gates

Title I gives the National Park Service (NPS) a major new tool to tackle housing shortages. Currently, it’s tough for them to house staff when local rents near national parks are sky-high. This bill allows the Secretary of the Interior to acquire up to 20 acres of land near a park unit specifically for building, maintaining, or operating employee housing (Sec. 102). Crucially, this new land is not managed under the usual park system laws, giving the Secretary total control to manage it and grant leases or permits. Think of it as the NPS getting its own small, privately managed housing developments right outside the park. For the average park ranger or seasonal employee, this could mean the difference between a two-hour commute and a five-minute walk to work. The money generated from employee rent can now also be used to fund the construction and operation of new housing, not just maintenance (Sec. 103).

The Forest Service also gets a break, gaining the ability to offer leases for workforce housing for up to 50 years, instead of the standard 30-year term (Sec. 105). This change makes long-term projects much more attractive to private developers or partners, potentially speeding up construction in rural areas where the Forest Service operates.

Hiring the Neighbors: Local Preference and Seasonal Flexibility

If you live near a national park, forest, or wildlife refuge, Title III has a significant, albeit temporary, change for you. The bill grants the federal land agencies direct hiring authority until September 30, 2030, for local residents applying for jobs up to the GS-9 or WG-15 pay grade (Sec. 301). This is a big deal because it allows the agencies to skip the often slow and complex competitive federal hiring process to get qualified local people into entry- and mid-level jobs immediately. This provision aims to stabilize the workforce by hiring people who already have roots in the community and are less likely to leave due to housing or cost-of-living issues.

For seasonal NPS employees, the bill scraps the old rule that required them to be rehired in the same local commuting area to keep their noncompetitive status (Sec. 302). If you spent a summer working at Yosemite, you can now noncompetitively apply for a job at the Grand Canyon without losing that status, making it much easier for the NPS to move experienced seasonal staff where they are needed most.

The Paperwork: Mandating Accountability and Oversight

This bill doesn’t just hand out new powers; it demands accountability. Within 18 months, all covered agencies (NPS, Forest Service, BLM, etc.) must submit a detailed report to Congress on the exact state of their housing needs (Sec. 401). This report must analyze everything from the condition of existing government housing to the impact of vacation rental services (like Airbnb) on local housing availability and cost near field offices. This is the government finally acknowledging that the gig economy is eating up the local rental market for their employees.

Furthermore, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is required to conduct a major investigation into existing federal rules—specifically OMB Circulars A-45 and A-11—that might be unintentionally blocking housing construction (Sec. 402). Once the GAO provides administrative recommendations for fixing these issues, the agencies must implement them within one year. This is a powerful mechanism designed to force the bureaucracy to cut red tape that prevents housing solutions.

Overall, this bill is a pragmatic, operations-focused effort. It acknowledges that you can’t run a national park without a place for the staff to sleep, and it provides the necessary financial flexibility and land acquisition tools to address that reality. The blend of new land powers, financial freedom, and mandated oversight suggests a serious commitment to solving a critical staffing crisis.