The National Parks Conservation Association, which advocates for national parks and the National Park Service, presented 81 members of Congress with the National Park Heritage Award. This award honors their support of the public lands package included in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act.
The delegation that shepherded the Manhattan Project National Historical Park to passage received the award: Senators Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, Lamar Alexander, Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, Representatives Ben Ray Lujan and Chuck Fleischmann, and former Rep. Doc Hastings. Thanks to their tireless support, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park will soon become a reality.