Yesterday was an historic day for conservation as President Trump signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act. The law will allocate much-needed funding for national parks, public lands and waters, and recreational projects across the country.
At a time when Congress is deeply divided on almost every issue, the GAOA passed with strong bipartisan support in the House 310-107, and the Senate 72-25, before reaching the president’s desk. Democrat Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Senators Corey Gardner of Colorado and Steve Daines of Montana were key sponsors.
The law guarantees full funding of the Land-Water Conservation Fund in perpetuity. During it’s 50 years, the LWCF – which is funded by offshore drilling royalites – has only received it’s full annual allocation twice, and many years, none at all. Among the projects funded by the LWCF are hiking trails, boat and wading access, and public hunting and fishing areas.
Another piece of the Act directs $9.5 billion to maintenance projects in the national parks and U.S. Forest Service areas.
In signing the bill, the President noted, “Today we are making the most significant investment in our parks since the admininstration of legendary conservationist President Theodore Roosevelt. For 50 years Congress has struggled to fund land and water conservation, leading to a never-ending backlog of maintenance and other critical needs in our parks and public lands.”.
