Is the Great American Outdoors Act living up to its potential?

Image: Yosemite National Park from Jordan Pulmano

For decades, Congress has starved parks and public lands of the funding they need. This has led to a maintenance backlog, low staffing for land management agencies like the Park Service and Forest Service, and the deterioration of resources including trails, parking lots, bathrooms, and other recreation facilities.

As you may remember, the outdoor community was instrumental in passing a major package of funding for public lands back in summer 2020, called the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).

GAOA dedicated billions in funding for the maintenance backlog on public lands through the Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), and provided permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Passing this package was a big lift, but now it’s important that we know how well the program is working as the agencies implement it.

This week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to examine the implementation of GAOA. Outdoor Alliance, led by The Mountaineers and Winter Wildlands Alliance, submitted testimony, which you can view here or by clicking at right.

The biggest question to ask is: after 18 months since its passage, is GAOA living up to its potential? We’ve identified a few key areas for improvement to ensure GAOA’s success.

Increasing Agency Capacity and Strengthening Partnerships

One of the most critical challenges is that agencies need more staff. The Forest Service and other land management agencies already are short-staffed, and there are some restrictions on how GAOA funding is used, including restrictions on using it to hire personnel. But more staff are needed just to implement and spend the maintenance funding, especially as visitation increases on public lands. In addition to agency staffing, strengthening partnerships between non-profits and agencies helps increase capacity to complete needed maintenance projects.

Addressing Increased Use on Public Lands

In the past few years, we’ve seen recreation participation on public lands increase significantly. Visitation won’t subside any time soon, so it’s important to make sure GAOA prioritizes projects that address capacity and overuse issues and promote sustainable recreation.

The Need for More Funding

While GAOA begins to address the maintenance backlog, public lands and waters still need more funding. GAOA only addresses about half of the Park Service’s backlog of maintenance projects and only one-quarter of the backlogged Forest Service projects. Providing additional funding for deferred maintenance projects can help to re-open many areas to the public, which could be beneficial in addressing overuse and capacity issues. Additionally, agencies need staff to do all of the planning, analysis, and other work that informs (or bottlenecks) projects on the ground.

Ultimately, GAOA is an essential contribution to both America’s lands and waters and the outdoor community’s recreation opportunities. The passage of GAOA has been one of Congress’s greatest achievements in the last few years, and Outdoor Alliance looks forward to working together with Congress and the administration to ensure the successful implementation of the program and eventually renew the funding before it expires.

It’s also important to note that while the Great American Outdoors Act is making, and will continue to make, a big difference for maintaining public lands and waters, it will only be a temporary fix if Congress doesn’t prioritize regular, robust funding for the Park Service, Forest Service, and other land management agencies. Read more about our advocacy for funding public lands, and sign up below to get up-to-the-minute alerts to help protect the places you love.