INDIANA, Pa. – (August 5, 2020) — On August 4, 2020 President Donald Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422) into law. Earlier this year, President Trump vowed to sign legislation to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) should Congress get it across his desk. The National Deer Alliance (NDA) and its members played an important role in the passage of this historic legislation that fully funds the LWCF and tackles the huge maintenance backlog currently faced on our public lands.
“We couldn’t be happier to see the Great American Outdoors Act cross the finish line,” said NDA president and CEO Nick Pinizzotto. “Our organization has been working diligently with conservation partners to advance this historic legislation since rumors of the bill’s introduction began.”
Introduced in March by multiple Senators from both sides of the aisle, the Great American Outdoors Act will provide full and permanent funding for the LWCF at $900 million annually and address the $19 billion maintenance backlog on our public lands. The LWCF, created in 1965, provides funding for land and water conservation, outdoor recreation and historic preservation projects. The Fund is not tax-funded, but is funded by royalties collected from offshore oil and gas operations.
The LWCF has provided funding for conservation projects in all 50 states and nearly every county in the United States. The Great American Outdoors Act will ensure that the LWCF will be fully funded at $900 million annually for just the third time in the Fund’s half-century history. For reference, the Fund is slated to receive $495 million this year – the highest allocation in the last 17 years.
Additionally, the Great American Outdoors Act will dedicate $9.5 billion to repair and restore public land infrastructure over a period of five years, with the National Park Service (NPS) receiving 70% of these funds. Other federal agencies, such as the US Forest Service (USFS), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will receive most of the remainder.
“The hard work and dedication of our members and conservation partners has paid off in a big way,” said Torin Miller, NDA’s policy and outreach coordinator. “It’s rewarding to see the legislative process work efficiently to pass much-needed conservation legislation that benefits Americans everywhere.”
The signing of the Great American Outdoors Act into law is a conservation achievement unparalleled in recent decades, and NDA is celebrating the bill’s signing and the hard work of our dedicated members. At a time when more and more Americans are turning towards the outdoors for recreation and relaxation, conservation legislation such as the Great American Outdoors Act carries even more weight. NDA is hopeful that the momentum generated by the Act will find its way into many more conservation initiatives in the near future.
More information on NDA, its mission and its partners is available at https://nationaldeeralliance.com/.
About National Deer Alliance: NDA is a nonprofit conservation organization with a mission to serve as the guardian for wild deer conservation and our hunting heritage. Focusing primarily on issues at the policy level, NDA is a leader in advocating for sustainable, science-based conservation of wild deer and fair-chase hunting, and is a source for credible, responsible, and timely information. NDA is an established and respected leader in the fight against chronic wasting disease. Learn more at nationaldeeralliance.com.
