Current Legislative Priorities

The 2020 Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) established the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF). The LRF provides funds for five years to address the maintenance backlog for five land management agencies (USDA Forest Service, National Parks Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Education).

Increase access to our public lands

• The current funding is expected to fund over 1,500 projects that will improve, replace, or demolish more than 11,000 property assets and retire $7 billion in deferred maintenance
• 6,500+ recreational and visitor experience assets.
• 650+ water and water waste infrastructure that will provide access to drinking water, restrooms, and other critical utilities that support visitor and employee experiences
• 2,500+ transportation assets including roads, bridges, and tunnels
• 505+ housing assets
• Nearly 850 operational buildings to allow employees and volunteers to work in safe spaces that can adequately support mission needs
   

Economic benefits

• LRF projects support an estimated 20,000 jobs annually and are contributing more than $10 billion to the economy over the past 5 years. 
• $16 billion economic impact generated by repairs
• In 2022, over 312 million visits generated $50.3 billion in economic activity and supported 378,000 jobs in the national parks alone
• $7 billion+ returned from maintenance backlogs

House of Representatives

In the House, there is a a draft of bill that would reauthorize the LRF titled the Great American Outdoors Act 250. This piece of legislation modernizes and updates public land and water infrastructure, increases outdoor access and safety, and supports the outdoor recreation economy.

Senate

In the Senate, America the Beautiful Act (S. 1547) is a proposed legislative bill designed to extend and increase funding for the LRF. It would provide $16 billion over eight years to address the multibillion-dollar deferred maintenance backlog on federal lands.

Call your representatives and advocate for our National Trails

Find Your Representative

Capital Improvement and Maintenance, Trails budget at $24M (+$2M from FY26 Enacted)

• Report Language: Non-governmental partners play an outsized role in the maintenance of Forest Service Trails completing over 50% of all maintenance based on 2023 Forest Service data. The Forest Service is directed to utilize additional funding to increase financial support of these partnerships to address maintenance needs given current agency staffing and capacity.
• Report Language: In order to support adequate funding for all Forest Service trails and to avoid a reduction in the existing budget for non-National Scenic and Historic Trails managed by the Forest Service, increases for non-National Scenic and Historic Trails should occur in parity with the rate of increases for National Scenic and Historic Trails.
• $70M to fund Recreation, Heritage & Wilderness
• At minimum, $6M to fund Legacy Roads & Trails Report Language: The committee supports continued funding for the National Forest System Trail Stewardship Trail Partner Funding Program. The Forest Service has had a successful Trail Stewardship Partner Funding
  program in place since 2017 that leverages federal funding by 6:1.

• $11.496M for National Trails System, National Conservation Lands line item (+$0.248M from FY26 Enacted)
• National Conservation Lands at $78M

• Rivers, Trails, & Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program at $13.47M
• Park Service Operations for the National Trails System at $18.856M
• Volunteers in Parks at $7.717M
• Youth Partnership program at $14.665M
• Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program, at a minimum of $125M

• Refuge Visitor Services at least $76M
• Branch of Transportation & Data Management - Headquarters
• Report Language: National Partnerships are an important component to maintain trail infrastructure across Fish and Wildlife Service sites. The
• Department shall continue to support National Partnerships in the Branch of Transportation & Data Management and across Headquarters and prioritize funding to leverage these partnerships.

• $1.5M to fully fund the National Digital Trail Project (NDTP) of USGS (+$0.15M from FY26 Enacted)

• At minimum $10M for the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is the most important source of federal funding for conservation and recreation access, and the primary tool for federal land managers to acquire land to protect National Trail corridors. In addition to federal agency land protection projects within national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and trail corridors, LWCF also funds state and local grant programs expanding and improving close-to home recreation opportunities at state and local parks, feeder trails, rail trails, greenways and more.

PNTS and individual trail organizations across the country work together with other outdoor recreation user groups, land conservation nonprofits, outdoor businesses, community organizations, veterans, sportsmen and many other stakeholders as part of the LWCF Coalition to advocate for this critical program.  Together we have successfully fought alongside bipartisan champions in Congress to permanently guarantee that $900M annually in LWCF funding will be available to protect our trails and other public lands and recreation opportunities for generations to come.

But our work is not done—threats to sell off or restrict opportunities to further protect public lands, trail corridors and access points are ongoing in Congress, while federal agencies have faced continued budget cuts and unprecedented massive loss of expert frontline, recreation management and resource protection staff.  Maintaining strong relationships with decisionmakers and telling the story of our trails’ irreplaceable value as a world-class recreation asset, economic driver and cultural touchstone requires constant effort and nonpartisan advocacy.  Join us, and make  your voice heard!

Join the LWCF Coalition

• Route 66 holds an elevated place in American consciousness and tells diverse stories of a mobile nation on the road.
• 250 buildings, bridges, road alignments and other sites along Route 66 that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Route 66 begins in Chicago, IL and ends in Santa Monica, CA.
• Crosses Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Kansas- totaling to 2,448 miles!

• HR 4338: Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act
• S.2506: Route 66 National Historic Trail Designation Act