In what could be the most significant legislative action pertaining to national parks since 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives is being asked to approve a defense authorization bill that has been amended to create a number of new units of to the National Park System, from a Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park in New York to a Manhattan Project National Historical Park spread across a handful of states. In the Senate, however, Ted Cruz is promising a battle if the House approves the measure.

The hefty, more than 1,600-page bill also contains measures to increase the size of some parks, would require the "modification" of wildlife buffers at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the latter a nod to an ongoing dispute over how the National Park Service works to protect threatened and endangered species of shorebirds and sea turtles, and allow for "donor recognition" within parks. Among the park-related aspects of the legislation, which could go to a full House vote Thursday and then on to the Senate next week, are:

* A provision to add the Ashland Harbor Breakwater Light to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin;

* Create the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park "to help preserve, protect, and interpret the nationally significant resources that exemplify the industrial heritage of the Blackstone River Valley;"

* Designation of a Coltsville National Historical Park in Connecticut;

* Would redesignate the First State National Monument in Delaware as the First State National Historical Park;

* Would adjust the boundaries of the Stephen Mather Wilderness at North Cascades National Park in Washington state to allow for realignment of the Stehekin Valley Road out of the flood plain;

* Enlarge Oregon Caves National Monument by 4,070 acres, which would be contained in a "National Preserve" attached to the monument;

* Would establish Tule Springs National Monument near Las Vegas;

* Would create a nearly 90,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico and transfer it from the U.S. Forest Service to the National Park Service, and;

* Would expand Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi.

Other provisions would require the Park Service to study other sites for possible inclusion in the park system. While the legislation also would allow recognition of donors to the parks within the park system, it specifically would prevent "recognition of the donor or any product or service of the donor as an official sponsor, or any similar form of recognition, of the National Park Service or the National Park System; a National Park Service endorsement of the donor or any product or service of the donor; or naming rights to any unit of the National Park System or a National Park System facility, including a visitor center."

To commemorate the centennial of the National Park Service in 2016, the measure allows the U.S. Treasury to mint $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar coins. The coins would not be placed in circulation, but rather sold as collector's items. Surcharges of $35 per $5 gold coin, $10 per $1 silver coin, and $5 per half-dollar coin would be levied to raise funds for the National Park Foundation, which is tasked with raising charitable dollars for the Park Service.

As to the matter of wildlife management at Cape Hatteras, the legislation also directs the Interior Secretary to consider, "(1) Opening beaches at the National Seashore that are closed to night driving restrictions, by opening beach segments each morning on a rolling basis as daily management reviews are completed. (2) Extending seasonal off-road vehicle routes for additional periods in the Fall and Spring if off-road vehicle use would not create resource management problems at the National Seashore. (3) Modifying the size and location of vehicle-free areas."

It was not immediately clear what sort of funding burden these measures would place on the National Park Service if approved.

Outside of the Park Service, the legislation would create or expand officially designated wilderness in national forests, and would in some instances convey federal lands to state and local governments.

While the bill has yet to pass the full House, Sen. Cruz was adamant Wednesday in calling for the Senate to reject the measure.

"The decision to attach an extreme land grab to the (defense authorization bill) is a disservice to members of the Armed Forces," said the Republican from Texas. "With the military's shrinking budget, it is offensive that this bill would be used to fund congressional pork. And, at a time where jobs are scarce and the federal government has removed billions of acres of land from productive use, Congress should not be restricting more than a half-million new acres. The House and Senate should reject this attempt by self-serving politicians to exploit the men and women of the military to serve their special interests."