Advocates Call on Congress to Renew a Landmark Investment to Fix Public Land Infrastructure and Boost Local Economies
As the nation continues to celebrate our 250th anniversary, a broad, bipartisan coalition is calling on Congress to pass a crucial piece of legislation that maintains our public lands and national heritage for generations to come. The America the Beautiful Act (S. 1547, H.R. 9250) would ensure that America’s national parks, forests, public lands, and wildlife refuges remain safe and accessible for the hundreds of millions of annual visitors. The legislation enjoys significant bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Established under the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020, the Legacy Restoration Fund was a generational, non-taxpayer funded investment that facilitated the repair of hundreds of trails and roads, campgrounds, marinas, visitor centers, and water systems across all 50 states. Since the Fund expired last year, advocates are urging Congress to pass the America the Beautiful Act as quickly as possible. Extending this investment would be an appropriate gift to the American people during the nation’s 250th birthday.
The congressional legislation has the support of lawmakers from all political parties who recognize that safeguarding our public lands, providing visitor access and safety, and sustaining local economies that depend on visitor spending transcend political differences. In Oklahoma, the following members of the congressional delegation support the bill:
By extending the Legacy Restoration Fund, the America the Beautiful Act will deliver nearly $2 billion annually to address high-priority infrastructure and maintenance needs nationwide. Enacting this legislation will provide an opportunity to fund priority repair projects within parks and public lands in Oklahoma, boosting travel and tourism, safeguarding historic sites and ecological resources, and benefiting local communities that rely on visitor spending.
Examples of projects that received funding include:
- Addressing critical repairs at Chickasaw National Recreation Area: Chickasaw is Oklahoma’s oldest National Park Service unit, protecting springs, streams, and lakes along with historic structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Its water system and visitor amenities have deteriorated. Legacy Restoration Fund projects totaling $43.7 million will repair or replace water and wastewater systems, relocate and improve electrical infrastructure, replace lift stations, and rehabilitate comfort stations, while restoring historic features and removing non-historic elements across walkways, restrooms, parking areas, campsites, trails, and park buildings, preventing disruptions to drinking water and improving safety and accessibility. The work also includes crack sealing, patching, surface treatments, and restriping on park roads and parking areas no longer safely drivable.
- Modernizing public use facilities at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge: Wichita Mountains is known for its freshwater lakes and streams, ancient granite mountains, and roaming herds of bison, longhorn, and Rocky Mountain elk. Legacy Restoration Fund projects totaling roughly $33 million are resolving major health and public safety concerns, including seismic and hydraulic retrofits to the high-hazard Comanche Lake Dam, while building energy-efficient quarters for refuge staff, volunteers, and students, consolidating facilities, and repairing roads, bridges, trails, and fishing piers.
For more information about the America the Beautiful Act, please visit this article from the Pew Charitable Trusts: As the U.S. Celebrates its 250th Year, the National Parks Face Unfinished Business