The Great American Outdoors Act Passes House, Expected to Become Law

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BREAKING NEWS: The Great American Outdoors Act has passed the House with a 310-107 vote! The reasons why this is such a huge win for outdoorists are plentiful, but most notably: this fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Act –– and includes the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act, which provides $9.5 BILLION in funding to address the maintenance backlog in our national parks. LWCF has provided funding to green spaces in every state in the US, and almost every county in the nation. As our friends at @OutdoorAlliance said, “This bill will help meet the demand for accessible outdoor spaces, put people to work building trails and parks, and help create resources like trail systems that will provide lasting economic benefits.” This is one more tool that will empower us to create an equitable outdoors. To our colleagues and co-conspirers who have worked tirelessly to support LWCF for the last decade: thank you. To every outdoorist who e-mailed, called, wrote letters to your reps asking them to vote yes on the Great American Outdoors Act: thank you. Advocates, we have so much to fight for and so much. More work ahead, but tonight, we celebrate.

A post shared by Outdoor Advocacy Project (@outdooradvocacy) on Jul 22, 2020 at 2:38pm PDT

The Great American Outdoors Act, a bipartisan effort to fund recreation opportunities on American public lands, passed in the House yesterday 310-107. The bill is now moving to the president’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law. The GAOA is a huge win for anyone who loves playing on public lands, as it will permanently provide full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and address a huge maintenance backlog across federal public lands with $9.5 billion in new funding. The money will go directly towards providing access to our cherished outdoor spaces for everyone.

RELATED: Read Here For More Info On the Great American Outdoors Act

The bill was made possible through the combined efforts of many in the outdoor community, including access advocacy groups like Outdoor Advocacy Project, mountain bike advocacy groups like IMBA, and individuals across the country who contacted their representatives and shared their will to see this happen.

“Nearly 14,000 mountain bikers have contacted their representatives in support of LWCF and the Great American Outdoors Act, in partnership with thousands upon thousands more outdoor recreation advocates across the country,” said IMBA Executive Director David Wiens, “As we celebrate, we must remember this historic level of funding means the hard work for trail advocates is just beginning. Mountain bikers, let's stay engaged and active. Let’s get to work for more trails.”   

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stash member Max Ritter

I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.