On Tuesday, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act, which will directly fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The LWCF is responsible for the repair and preservation of national parks.
This new bill will apply $6.65 billion to priority fixes and up to $3 billion for varying agencies including the Fish and Wildlife Service. The bill will also continue to administer $900 million annually to the conservation fund, which will greatly benefit the National Park Service program.
59 members of the Senate are cosponsors- 49 of which are Democrats, 15 Republicans, and two independents. In June, the Senate passed the bill 73-25, and shortly thereafter, the House of Representatives passed it with 310-107.
According to Fox News, Marcia Argust, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts' efforts to restore America's Parks, claims that the bill is "a real game-changer" and will be the largest investment in parks and public lands since WWII.
The Department of the Interior has calculated that the economic benefit will total over $41 billion, and visitor spending increased by $800 million from 2018-2019.
Trump has also signed an executive order on "Promoting Active Management of America's Forests, Rangelands, and other Federal Lands to Improve Conditions and Reduce Wildfire Risk" in 2018. In 2019, he also signed a sweeping lands package, which reapproved the conservation fund.
