The 2020 federal law has helped fund park maintenance projects and improve access to public lands.
An article by Susan Shain in High Country News assesses the impact of the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, a federal law that purported to be the “single largest investment in public lands in U.S. history.”
According to Shain, the two-part law aims to improve access to public lands for recreation and other purposes and funds the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, which supports maintenance and repairs of national parks infrastructure.
According to Myke Bybee of the Trust for Public Land, the law is working. “Since 2021, the Legacy Restoration Fund has funded a slew of delayed maintenance projects, both large and small — rehabilitating the Hurricane Ridge day lodge at Olympic National Park ($7 million); replacing a wastewater plant at Grand Canyon National Park ($40.5 million); and rebuilding roads, bridges and water treatment plants at Yellowstone National Park ($317.7 million), among many others.” These initiatives have created roughly 17,000 jobs, according to the Department of the Interior. “In the future, Bybee hopes to see more funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund — the $900 million annual allocation has been the same since 1964, when land was much cheaper — as well as permanent funding for the Legacy Restoration Fund.”
FULL STORY: What happened to the Great American Outdoors Act?
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National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
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Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service