House Natural Resources leaders introduce outdoors funding bill for parks and public lands

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Outdoors funding bill for parks

Highlights

The Great American Outdoors Act 250 allocates $1.9 billion annually for five years to address deferred maintenance and expand recreation access on federal lands.
The bill funds infrastructure modernization without new federal land acquisition, generating sustainable revenue through foreign visitor fees, private donations, and onshore energy revenue.
Legislation supports 72,500 jobs nationwide and $26.4 billion in revenue for rural gateway communities reliant on tourism linked to public lands.

Funding plan and legislative scope

As announced by the House Committee on Natural Resources, Chairman Bruce Westerman and Ranking Member Jared Huffman have introduced the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act 250 to expand recreation access and address deferred maintenance across federal land agencies and Bureau of Indian Education facilities.

The measure provides $1.9 billion annually for each of the next five years. It is designed to fund high-priority maintenance work, modernize campgrounds, trails, boat ramps, hunting and fishing sites and other recreation infrastructure, while requiring regular reporting and steps to streamline contracting, procurement and project reviews.

The proposal also states that it does not allow new federal land acquisition. Its backers say the legislation creates sustainable funding streams through foreign visitor fees and incentives for private donations, alongside onshore energy revenue.

Rural tourism and public lands impact

Supporters of the bill say the investment would extend beyond park operations to rural communities that depend on tourism linked to national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other public lands.

According to figures cited in the announcement, the legislation supports 72,500 jobs nationwide and $26.4 billion in revenue for rural gateway communities. Westerman says the bill would improve visitor experiences and create new recreation opportunities for families, while Huffman says it builds on prior bipartisan efforts to keep parks open, maintained and accessible for future visitors.

Our earlier coverage of the House Committee on Natural Resources’ land and energy legislative package described a set of measures spanning a tribal land exchange in California, an expansion of military training capacity in Arizona, and mineral leasing authority in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The package was framed as a broader push for “commonsense” federal land management, linking resource development with defense needs and tribal stewardship objectives.

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