H.R. 4684 · Passed House · Public Lands and Natural Resources

Star-Spangled Summit Act of 2026

Sponsor: Mike Kennedy (R-UT)

What it does

• Directs the Forest Service to issue a 10-year special use permit for a flagpole flying the American flag at Kyhv Peak Lookout Point in Utah's Uinta National Forest, and to renew it.
• Allows terms and conditions to ensure proper care and maintenance of the flagpole.
• Prohibits any land use fee for the permit and exempts it from National Environmental Policy Act review.
• Restores a tradition begun in 2000 by Scoutmaster Robert Collins and his troop of raising the flag seasonally each year.

Official summary

Star-Spangled Summit Act of 2026 This bill directs the Forest Service to issue a special use permit to maintain a flagpole bearing the American flag at Kyhv Peak Lookout Point in the Uinta National Forest, which is in Utah. The Forest Service must issue the special use permit for a 10-year period and renew the permit as required by the bill. The Forest Service may impose terms and conditions on a permit holder to ensure the proper care and maintenance of the flagpole. The bill prohibits the Forest Service from charging a land use fee for the special use permit. The bill also exempts such permit from environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. As background, Scoutmaster Robert Collins and his scout troop raised the American flag at the point in 2000 and lowered it before winter. The flag was raised annually until the Forest Service cited policy that requires a permit for the construction or placement of any structure, including flagpoles, on National Forest lands. The bill directs the Forest Service to issue a special use permit so the flag may continue to be raised seasonally each year.

Latest action

May 20, 2026: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources