WASHINGTON D.C.— August 4TH
This morning, the President signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law, ushering in a major funding boost for the National Wildlife Refuge System and fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association is thrilled that after decades of deterioration of infrastructure, Congress has set aside $1.9 billion each year for the next five years to tackle the maintenance backlog of our nation’s public lands. The National Wildlife Refuge System will receive 5% of this funding each year, or $95 million, to go towards repairs of visitor centers, boardwalks, signage, and trails. The largest recipient of this funding by far is the National Park System, with the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service also receiving a small portion.
“The Refuge System has worked diligently over the past decade to reduce their maintenance backlog through constantly prioritizing the most important work, but the need to keep facilities safe for the public and working to meet the refuge system mission is huge,” said Geoffrey L. Haskett, President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “The projects remaining total roughly $1.4 billion, and this funding will enable refuge staff to finally complete the most critical maintenance projects on the list, many of which have lingered for years.”
Funding for the Refuge System in this bill will total approximately $475 million, enough to address roughly one-third of the projects on the backlog list.
Another huge part of this package was the full, dedicated funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Originally enacted in 1965, LWCF has been the main driver of the acquisition of public lands in this country. Although Congress intended LWCF to be funded at $900 million per year, that level was only ever reached twice in its entire history. Last year, Congress permanently funded LWCF. The Great American Outdoors Act doubles down on that promise, and now LWCF will provide $900 million each year in perpetuity for land acquisition on public lands from the Refuge System to the Park Service to county parks.
“The Refuge System stands to double its land acquisition budget with the enactment of this law,” said Haskett. “We want to thank all the GAOA sponsors for their leadership and hard work to make sure this bill became law. ”
Hundreds of Senators and Members of Congress supported these proposals prior to passage, showing the wide, bipartisan, and bicameral support that the Great American Outdoors Act has drawn. The National Wildlife Refuge Association looks forward to working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fully implement these programs and improving wildlife refuge habitat for wildlife and visitors alike.