conservationcurrents
The Great American Outdoors Act, One Year Later The impacts of public lands investments By Conor Marshall, Advocacy and Engagement Manager
Heather Lake. Photo by Mountaineers staff.
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et’s be honest: if our national parks and forests had a Yelp rating, it wouldn’t be five stars. Many of us encounter potholed roads, decrepit restrooms, and eroded trails all too often on our outdoor adventures. That’s why The Mountaineers has been fighting for years for better funding for our parks and public lands. But every so often, years of advocacy, timing, and a little luck align to produce a special conservation win. Thanks to advocacy by Mountaineers members and the outdoor community, we’re finally receiving new resources to maintain trails, improve campgrounds, and repair roads, bridges, and facilities. The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) – which celebrated its first anniversary in August 2021 – is one of the latest examples of how a diverse coalition of outdoor advocates can come together to achieve historic investments for public lands in Washington and across the country. There are two main components of this new law: much-needed resources to maintain and restore national parks and other federal public lands, and full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). These investments will make an impact across all communities for years to come, and it’s already started. The Mountaineers is committed to ensuring that these funds are directed towards priority projects in our region, and our conservation team has been tracking implementation of early GAOA projects. There’s a lot to be excited about in Washington.
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mountaineer | winter 2022
Restoring what we have More and more people visit our national parks and public lands each year, but Congress hasn’t kept up with enough funding to manage the impacts of increased use. Thanks to the Great American Outdoors Act, the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy fund provides $1.9 billion per year (for up to five years) for deferred maintenance and restoration of our national parks and other public lands. This won’t fund all the improvements needed, but five years of projects will make a huge difference. National parks in Washington alone need more than $427 million in deferred maintenance. Through the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Fund, federal land managers are already taking advantage of this new funding stream in order to address deferred maintenance needs in Washington. Here are some projects that are already under way in our local national parks and forests as a result of the first year of project funding: Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park (MRNP) plays host to numerous Mountaineers activities and courses and occupies a special place in our organization’s history. MRNP was awarded $2.9 million to rehabilitate the Ohanapecosh campground and sewer collection lines, located among the old-growth forests in the southeast corner of the park. Park service staff were also able to capitalize on National Parks and Public Lands Legacy funding through the first year of GAOA to secure
