National parks, wildlife refuges and recreational areas in the U.S. received a boost in funding this August when President Donald Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act (P.L. 116-152) into law on Aug. 4.
The law will provide $9.5 billion over five years to help maintain and expand parks and natural areas throughout the country. It also provides $900 million a year to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which provides grants to local, state and federal governments to preserve and acquire land and water areas. The revenue from energy development and oil and gas exploration will fund these conservation efforts. The law received bipartisan support in both chambers. It passed the Senate in June by a vote of 73-25 and the House in July by a vote of 310-107. Those in support of the legislation praised its value in protecting America’s natural green spaces and public lands as well as its ability to create economic stimulus, especially within the recreation industry.
“Today the Senate passed not only the single greatest conservation achievement in generations, but also a lifeline to mountain towns and recreation communities hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), who introduced the bill, said in a statement after the legislation passed. Gardner, who is up for reelection this year, added that the bill will have positive effects in urban areas through the funding of parks and recreation centers.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) co-sponsored the bill and also applauded its passage. “This is a big deal for the Treasure State’s greatest treasure — our public lands,” he said in a statement. “We rely on our public lands, and protecting them means protecting not only the outdoor spaces where folks hike, hunt, fish and camp but also the 70,000 jobs and $7.1 billion generated each year by Montana’s outdoor recreation economy.”
Recreation and conservation groups also spoke out in support of the bill’s passage. “With this passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, our parks’ crumbling roads, decaying buildings and outdated water systems will be fixed, more than 100,000 people will have much-needed jobs and every American … will have more access to outdoor spaces,” Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a statement. “This bill is a conservationist’s dream.”
Although the bill had strong bipartisan support, some policymakers and environmental advocates argued that the bill is only a “bandage” and does not do enough to correct the adverse environmental effects of many other Trump administration policies.
“The Great American Outdoors Act will not cover up the unprecedented environmental damage that Donald Trump and his administration have done over the past three and a half years,” Sally Jewell and Ken Salazar, both former secretaries of the Department of the Interior during the Obama administration, wrote in an op-ed calling for further environmental protections. They specifically pointed to natural areas, including the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, that the Trump administration removed from protection.
The former secretaries urged Congress to capitalize on the momentum and push for further conservation improvements, including those that would eliminate racial and economic inequalities. Jewell and Salazar noted, for example, that the country’s polluting industries are more likely to be located near minority communities. “Congress’ passage of the Great American Outdoors Act is a reminder that we collectively have the power to write a new chapter in America’s conservation history so that the promise of fresh air and the freedom of nature is guaranteed to every American, for all time.”
Other opponents of the bill, including Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), argued that the legislation is a “one-time fix” that could add to the nation’s debt. Enzi proposed an amendment that would increase entrance fees at national parks. “No one likes to pay more for things, especially during times like these, but to maintain these national treasures for future generations, we either borrow money and put it on the national credit card, or we take some modest steps to address the issues responsibly,” he said during a floor speech. The Senate did not accept the amendment, and Enzi voted against the bill.
Other opponents of the legislation argued that it could give too much power to the federal government to acquire land, pointing out that political appointees in the Interior and Agriculture departments, as opposed to Congress, would have the authority to allocate funds.
For more background, see the June 2017 issue of Congressional Digest on “Public Lands.”
