Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed a $9 billion public lands package, after it passed the House + Senate. Introduced last year by the late Rep. John Lewis, the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act is intended to repair deteriorating national park infrastructure + permanently bankroll the $900 million Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).🌲
It also proposed the National Parks and Public Land Restoration Fund, setting aside $9.5 billion over five years to address deferred maintenance for national parks. While this historic legislation is exciting on its own, it has major implications for North Carolina, and today we’re giving you the dirt on it. 🐾
The Great American Outdoors Act combines components from two previous bills: the Restore Our Parks Act and the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act, which would provide full, dedicated funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund.💧
The LWCF was established by Congress in 1964 to protect water resources and natural areas, as well as to provide opportunities for recreation for all Americans. National forests, community parks, rivers and lakes, trails, national parks like our beloved Great Smoky Mountains, and the Blue Ridge Parkway benefit from LWCF’s federal funds.🌿
Fun Fact: Each year more people visit the Blue Ridge Parkway than Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon combined.🌻
The LWCF would be funded by royalties from offshore oil + gas drilling, and can be used for three purposes: general federal purposes, federal land acquisitions, and state-level matching grants for outdoor recreation projects (like swimming pools and greenways). This means cities across the country, like Raleigh, can apply for LWCF support to help support things like creating a new city park. The LWCF has not been fully funded since 1978. ⛰
In addition to protecting and conserving natural resources, the LWCF will affect NC public lands acquisition and maintenance. It is critical to securing protection for lands adjacent to national parks and works with The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) locally to protect national parks. It will also help drive job creation + economic recovery efforts in NC and beyond. Currently, the US loses about two football fields worth of nature each minute.🍃
According to the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor recreation activities like hiking, paddling, camping, and more contribute $887 billion to the economy annually + supports 7.6 million jobs — 260,000+ of which are in NC alone.💰
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