Great American Outdoors Act signed into law

Today, the President signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law. This is one of the most important pieces of conservation legislation in recent memory. Not only does it permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but it supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and funds vital maintenance for our public lands.

Photo by Trevor Ducken.

The Great American Outdoors Act provides several key wins for public lands:

• It permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for $900 million annually. LWCF is our country’s most important conservation program, supporting local economies, providing infrastructure for public health, tourism, and recreation, and increasing access to the outdoors in all states and territories. It is paid for with non-taxpayer dollars and is overwhelmingly popular. It has maintained broad bipartisan support due to its more than half-century history of successful, locally-driven conservation. In Washington State alone, the outdoor recreation economy contributes over $26 billion in consumer spending and supports more than 201,000 direct jobs. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is a key component of our nation’s robust outdoor recreation economy, which generates over $887 billion in annual consumer spending and supports 7.6 million American jobs. The LWCF has supported more than 42,000 state and local projects in communities across the country.
• This bill includes a package that provides $1.9 billion over five years which is $9.5 billion total for deferred maintenance on our nation’s public lands. Most of this will go to The National Park Service and will be used to address deteriorating roads, visitor centers, and facilities. Now more than ever, we need funding for public lands conservation and maintenance. The Great American Outdoors Act will provide the financial support and infrastructure that is desperately needed.

Washington Wild is a member of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition and has been working to mobilize its supporters over the past several weeks to support this important conservation victory.