Great American Outdoors Act

In 2020, Congress wrote a bill that would permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and restore our national parks. On August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act was signed into law, accomplishing those exact objectives.

This landmark conservation legislation, will use revenues from energy development to provide - up to $1.9 billion a year for five years - to provide needed maintenance for critical facilities and infrastructure in our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, recreation areas, and American Indian schools. It will also use royalties from offshore oil and natural gas to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund to the tune of $900 million a year to invest in conservation and recreation opportunities across the country.

National parks host more than 325 million visitors every year, and the infrastructure cannot keep up without significant repairs. The network of roads, trails, restrooms, water treatment systems, and visitor facilities are aging, and many are exceeding the capacity they were designed to support. The National Parks and Public Lands Restoration Fund will provide funding for priority projects that address the maintenance backlog at NPS facilities, including campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails, and other critical infrastructure.