The Senate has approved a bill that would make billions of dollars available to fund national parks and public lands infrastructure including trails, roads, and buildings. Called the Great American Outdoors Act, the bill is a significant piece of conservation legislation and was passed thanks to bipartisan support for the value of the outdoors.
The bill would create a $9.5 billion pool of money to address a backlog of maintenance work at national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. Over five years, it would be monumental for fixing badly needed repairs that plague public parks. The bill also allocates $900 million a year into the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The money comes from government revenue from oil and gas drilling on public lands. While not an ideal source of funding, environmental conservation is one of the most optimal uses for the revenue.
After clearing the GOP-controlled chamber by a 73-to-25 margin, it will likely become law. Its success was in part due to efforts by Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) who pushed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to give the bill floor time.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to take up the bill in the House before July 4. If passed, hopefully we will see renovation and expanded conservation efforts on public lands. We will likely see the money at work in anything from pothole and leaky pipe repair to new trails and vulnerable habitat protection.
