Great American Outdoors Act Passes

Congress passed the Great American Outdoors Act in late July, creating a new fund to pay for necessary repairs and maintenance of park infrastructure.

The bill includes $9.5 billion during the next five years to address a maintenance and repair backlog in national parks and other public lands.

The National Park Service will get 70 percent of the money; the U.S. Forest Service will receive 15 percent; and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Education schools each will receive 5 percent. The funding for the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund comes from energy production on federally controlled lands and waters, including renewable energy and oil and gas drilling.