WASHINGTON, D.C.–National ballparks deserved a major victory in the final days of spring 2020- in a piece of good information amidst daily prompts of a global pandemic and civil unrest. The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly supported the Great American Outdoors Act, voting in favor of the money on June 17.
Billions of dollars of federal fund would be directed to backlogged national parks activities. The federal Land and Water Conservation Fund would also be permanently money, should the Great American Outdoors Act be signed into law by Pres. Donald J. Trump. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is a funding lifeline for outdoor recreation.
Oil and gas incomes would be used, through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, to expand or protect national parks, according to news reports.
The National Park Service, as proposed by the legislation, would receive $9.5 billion over the next five years for maintenance backlogs. News reports indicate our national parks are suffering from $ 20 billion in deferred maintenance penalties- with the National Park Service responsible for about 60 percent of that amount.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund would be permanently financed to the tune of $900 million yearly, if the Great American Outdoors Act is signed into constitution. The $900 million plan is the fund’s maximum annual stipend, according to news reports.
Congress made the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 1964 as a precaution for natural areas and water resources. Fund for the fund precisely comes from energy company royalties, which are paid for oil and gas drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Portions of the fund are used to protect wildlife habitat. Recreational equipment have been rehabilitated or resuscitated through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, according to the National Park Service. The store also provides millions of dollars for commonwealth grants.
More than 1,000 California commons have received funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund since its inception, according to California State Parks.
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, has been a leading advocate of the Great American Outdoors Act. He called the Senate’s passage of this legislation as “the single greatest conservation achievement in generations.”
“The Senate extended not only the single greatest conservation achievement in generations, but likewise a lifeline to mountain towns and recreation parishes hard by the Covid-1 9 pandemic, ” Gardner said in a exhausted statement.
The Great American Outdoors Act goes to the House of Representatives for final permission before heading to the president’s desk for signature or veto.
https://www.fishrapnews.com/features/u-s-senate-approves-great-american-outdoors-act/