The 1972 act creating the park requires that the National Park Service and Department of the Interior \u201cshall preserve the recreation area, as far as possible, in its natural setting, and protect it from development and uses which would destroy the scenic beauty and natural character of the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of the national park system, the land also has to adhere to the Park Service Organic Act,<\/a> which said it must \u201cconserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n But forthcoming legislation would aim to repeal those requirements. Pelosi\u2019s office confirmed that a House representative is expected to propose a bill that would remove key environmental protections governing the island, allowing it to be transferred out of the National Park Service\u2019s control.<\/p>\n \u201cShould reason not prevail and Republicans bring this absurdity before the Congress, Democrats will use every parliamentary and budgetary tactic available to stop the lunacy,\u201d Pelosi said.<\/p>\n The move builds on an earlier attack on the park, when, in February, Trump signed a DOGE-inspired executive order<\/a> requiring the federal agency that runs the Presidio to submit a review of its operations and shut down any unnecessary functions, aiming to all but eliminate it.<\/p>\n The Presidio Trust has said that because of the tight law that created it, and its financial self-sufficiency, it has not had to make any changes to its function since the review.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not yet clear if the prison would be transferred back to the Bureau of Prisons, but Pelosi\u2019s office confirmed that the plan is to transfer Alcatraz out of the Department of the Interior\u2019s control.<\/p>\n Reopening Alcatraz would first require legislation to be proposed \u2014 and passed \u2014 by a two-thirds majority vote in Congress to repeal its environmental protections and shift control from the Department of the Interior. Only then could it be transferred to the BOP.<\/p>\n Still, critics have said reviving a prison on the island in the San Francisco Bay would be costly \u2014 and inefficient.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.kqed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/07\/NancyPelosiGetty2.jpg\")
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