Law Great American Outdoors Act

[Deorum]

Is there any chance this can get a nice re-up injection with some executive branch insistence in 2025 for FY26? Does anyone oppose doing so? The GAOA was probably my single favorite piece of legislation passed during the DJT era. The LWCF now has a perpetual source of funding, and that's great. However, the NPS on the whole has long been subject to severe constraints where annual budgetary appropriations are concerned. This is despite the fact that the natural and cultural sites comprising our park system are considered to be a collective national treasure, with the agency itself rated the most favorable entity of the federal government by the American public.

The Great American Outdoors Act (H.R. 1957) is a piece of legislation passed by the United States Congress, signed by President Donald J. Trump, and activated into Public Law (Public Law No. 116-152) in 2020. It has two major components: fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million per year, and provide $9.5 billion over five years ($1.9 billion annually) to address a maintenance backlog at American National Parks, including updating facilities to increase accessibility for the general public. At the time, the Associated Press wrote that it would be "the most significant conservation legislation enacted in nearly half a century."



UPDATE: March 2025

Lawmakers working on Great American Outdoors Act renewal

The law has wide bipartisan support, though one prominent Senate Republican could be a hurdle.

www.eenews.net

Top senators have begun working on reauthorizing the Great American Outdoors Act, a sweeping bill passed during President Donald Trump’s first term to fund maintenance projects at the nation’s national parks.

The law is set to run out of funding in mid-2025, while the deferred maintenance backlog at the Park Service it was intended to address continues to grow. When the bill was signed in 2020, the backlog was at roughly $17 billion, adjusted for inflation. According to the latest figures from fiscal year 2023, that figure has now grown to $23 billion.

That’s despite yearly infusions of $1.9 billion from the law into the Legacy Restoration Fund, which was created by the act to address the deferred maintenance backlog. The bill was passed with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in 2020 and signed into law by Trump, who has since returned to the White House.

 

[Rob Battisti]

Is there any chance this can get a nice re-up injection with some executive branch insistence in 2025 for FY26? Does anyone oppose doing so? The GAOA was probably my single favorite piece of legislation passed during the DJT era. The LWCF now has a perpetual source of funding, and that's great. However, the NPS on the whole has long been subject to severe constraints where annual budgetary appropriations are concerned. This is despite the fact that the natural and cultural sites comprising our park system are considered to be a collective national treasure, with the agency itself rated the most favorable entity of the federal government by the American public.

The Great American Outdoors Act (H.R. 1957) is a piece of legislation passed by the United States Congress, signed by President Donald J. Trump, and activated into Public Law (Public Law No. 116-152) in 2020. It has two major components: fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million per year, and provide $9.5 billion over five years ($1.9 billion annually) to address a maintenance backlog at American National Parks, including updating facilities to increase accessibility for the general public. At the time, the Associated Press wrote that it would be "the most significant conservation legislation enacted in nearly half a century."

You know what the issue is, @Deorum?

I doubt that DJT or Harris has even ever visited a national park. Maybe they have driven through, but I am speaking of actually experiencing one.

 

[Deorum]

You know what the issue is, @Deorum?

I doubt that DJT or Harris has even ever visited a national park. Maybe they have driven through, but I am speaking of actually experiencing one.

Neither has @Long Dark Blues, tbf.

The majority of the NPs are located in the American West, and 80% of the US population lives east of the Missouri River. But you're probably right. DJT couldn't even pronounce "Yosemite", and apparently one of the determing factors to get him on board with the legislation came down to someone on his staff showing him a single photo within Black Canyon of the Gunnison, lol. Whatever, though. IDGAF, he signed the damn bill.

 

[Rob Battisti]

Neither has @Long Dark Blues, tbf.

The majority of the NPs are located in the American West, and 80% of the US population lives east of the Missouri River. But you're probably right. DJT couldn't even pronounce "Yosemite", and apparently one of the determing factors to get him on board with the legislation came down to someone on his staff showing him a single photo within Black Canyon of the Gunnison, lol. Whatever, though. IDGAF, he signed the damn bill.

Can you even imagine him wearing hiking boots?

 

[Deorum]

Can you even imagine him wearing hiking boots?

He almost sounded like a hostage being forced to read a ransom note from his captors.

 

[Rob Battisti]

He almost sounded like a hostage being forced to read a ransom note from his captors.

Ugh UGH I had to turn it off LOL

 

[Deorum]

Ugh UGH I had to turn it off LOL

It's a depressing fact that the conservation and protection of America's public lands and wilderness areas is very far back in the mind of the average American. It's nothing short of a top three priority for me alongside the preservation of our constitutional rights and promotion of domestic industries. We are never getting another TR in the White House, and nobody has even come close since.

 

[Mr Holmes]

Can you even imagine him wearing hiking boots?

What do you guys like for hiking boots? Right now i've been rocking the Jim Green ARs barefoot Rose Anvil colab.

 

[Rob Battisti]

What do you guys like for hiking boots? Right now i've been rocking the Jim Green ARs barefoot Rose Anvil colab.

I have a tried and true pair of Merrels I’ve had for YEARS nothing fancy but they are tough and fit my foot perfectly.

They will hopefully help me get up Katahdin next year.

 

[Deorum]

What do you guys like for hiking boots? Right now i've been rocking the Jim Green ARs barefoot Rose Anvil colab.

I'm a little canyon rat that hikes at a brisk pace. The terrain at GCNP, whether moving through the inner canyon corridors or wandering the forest on the rim, calls for light and stable trail runners (no gore-tex!) and I've found none better than Salomon XA-Pro 3D's. I'm really fucking prissy about taking care of my feet, and they're happy with them.

 

[Deorum]

You know what the issue is, @Deorum?

I doubt that DJT or Harris has even ever visited a national park. Maybe they have driven through, but I am speaking of actually experiencing one.

The NPS bison tweets have been making me smirk all year.







I'm glad for this.

Bison Bellows: America's New National Mammal (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

Joining the bald eagle as a national symbol, the American bison recently became the United States' first national mammal. After four years of outreach to Congress and the White House, by the Wildlife Conservation Society, its partners the InterTribal Buffalo Council and National Bison Association and 60-plus Vote Bison Coalition members, the National Bison Legacy Act was signed on May 9, 2016, officially making the bison our national mammal. This historic event represents a true comeback story, embedded with history, culture, and conservation.

Less than 100 years ago, the American bison was teetering on the verge of extinction. By the beginning of the 20th century, the species' numbers fell from herds of roughly 40 million to less than 1,000 individuals. The impact on Native Americans was devastating. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt, William Hornaday and others formed the American Bison Society (ABS) to help save bison from extinction---the first national effort to save an American wildlife species. The U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) also helped reverse the bison's fate. Beginning at Yellowstone National Park in 1872, the park protected its remaining two dozen bison. Today, through immense collaboration with diverse partners, DOI lands currently support 17 bison herds in 12 states, for a total of approximately 10,000 bison over 4.6 million acres of DOI and adjacent lands.

 

[Belaya Smert]

I support any and all funding of the National Parks. There is no point where the idea of an undeveloped, unmolested patch of Earth just left to time isn’t preferred. To be appreciated by generations and make people more observant of the environment and ecology as a result.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

Neither has @Long Dark Blues, tbf.

The majority of the NPs are located in the American West, and 80% of the US population lives east of the Missouri River. But you're probably right. DJT couldn't even pronounce "Yosemite", and apparently one of the determing factors to get him on board with the legislation came down to someone on his staff showing him a single photo within Black Canyon of the Gunnison, lol. Whatever, though. IDGAF, he signed the damn bill.

Next summer we have the Grand Canyon road trip planned for my eldest's 25th and my youngest's 16th birthdays!

Trying to convince them on October, as I'm dreading summer temps. But the girlfriend wants to do it for the kid's birthdays (July and August).

We are flying out to Chicago to pick up my eldest, renting an RV, and road trippin' down Route 66 from there.

Three more years and my youngest is 18, he'll be hanging back and watching the house and dog while my girl and I hit the road going campground to campground and National Park to National Park.

I will be activating my banked sick time and taking a three-month sabbatical for that...

Find me somehwere out on that horizon!

 

[Mr Holmes]

I have a tried and true pair of Merrels I’ve had for YEARS nothing fancy but they are tough and fit my foot perfectly.

They will hopefully help me get up Katahdin next year.

I had a pair of Merrels when I went hiking around Santa Fe. They were great boots but I had to toss them when they got scratched into oblivion.

I'm a little canyon rat that hikes at a brisk pace. The terrain at GCNP, whether moving through the inner canyon corridors or wandering the forest on the rim, calls for light and stable trail runners (no gore-tex!) and I've found none better than Salomon XA-Pro 3D's. I'm really fucking prissy about taking care of my feet, and they're happy with them.

Nice. I'm booking my plane and hotels this weekend. We decided on 2 nights in Vegas, 2 nights at Grand Canyon and 1 night at Death Valley. I'm sticking with the African Rangers for this trip.

 

[Loiosh]

I'm a little canyon rat that hikes at a brisk pace. The terrain at GCNP, whether moving through the inner canyon corridors or wandering the forest on the rim, calls for light and stable trail runners (no gore-tex!) and I've found none better than Salomon XA-Pro 3D's. I'm really fucking prissy about taking care of my feet, and they're happy with them.

Holy fuck.

I had those exact fucking shoes.

 

[Deorum]

Next summer we have the Grand Canyon road trip planned for my eldest's 25th and my youngest's 16th birthdays!

Trying to convince them on October, as I'm dreading summer temps. But the girlfriend wants to do it for the kid's birthdays (July and August).

We are flying out to Chicago to pick up my eldest, renting an RV, and road trippin' down Route 66 from there.

Three more years and my youngest is 18, he'll be hanging back and watching the house and dog while my girl and I hit the road going campground to campground and National Park to National Park.

I will be activating my banked sick time and taking a three-month sabbatical for that...

Find me somehwere out on that horizon!

Holy Fuckin' W, bruh.

If you're worried about summer temps, take the detour up to the North Rim, one of the most remote locations in the entire country. My god, take it regardless if you've already made it this far. It's over 1000 feet higher than the South, at least 10 degrees cooler, and has 10% of the annual visitation. It adheres to everything Teddy wanted a national park experience to be, and TR thought a lot about the GC. I hiked right by one of his exact camping spots on the Cliff Spring trail last month.

"The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison—beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity, and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But you can keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see." -- Theodore Roosevelt

I still can't believe I get to call it my 'local' national park, lol. It's straight up fucking ridiculous in terms of sheer size, scale, and scenic beauty yes; but you're also looking directly at two billion years of geological history exposed and on display along its horizontal strata. There are five of North America's seven life zones represented within the park's boundaries, and the North Rim is the only place in the USA that you can catch a glimpse of the continent's largest land mammal (American Bison) and bird species (California Condor) in the same place.



(^ The "wait" to get in on the 4th of July this year!)

You also get this as an added bonus.

Kaibab Plateau-North Rim Parkway - National Scenic Byway Foundation

Travel through the Kaibab Plateau's meadows and forests of dense ponderosa pine and mixed conifer to the brink of the spectacular north rim of the Grand Canyon, 1,000 feet higher than the south rim. Watch for the abundant wildlife and experience breathtaking views of the canyon.

nsbfoundation.com

Arizona State Highway 67 provides access to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The drive from Jacob Lake to the North Rim has been described as “the most pleasant 44 miles in America”. The highway is (also) a designated National Forest Scenic Byway and a State Scenic Parkway. The Byway starts on State Highway 67 (SR-67) and continues to the end of Grand Canyon National Park on the North Rim. As the route passes through the Kaibab National Forest, visitors can view beautiful high elevation mixed conifer forests, subalpine meadows, montane grasslands, ponds, and limestone outcrops. Wildlife is abundant along this highway, watch for mule deer and meandering buffalo!

 

[jk7707]

I hope it is. But I've become jaded over how little most politicians seem to care about these special places.

The fact of the matter is that the National Park Service has lost somewhere in there ballpark of 15% of its employees over the last decade. And this trend has been going on much longer than that. This has been paired with huge increases in visitation to these same sites.

It is not sustainable. I don't know what it will take to get Washington's attention, but I'm seeing the crumbling from the inside.

Positions that would have been filled in the past are being let sit vacant due to budget problems, while those that are still here are burning out at a rapid pace from being asked to do the work of 3 rangers just to keep basic operations moving.

The saddest part is that we are having major problems recruiting young folks to fill the ranks for the next generation of rangers. Why? Because you can't live on 17$ an hour in the towns that surround many parks.

The GAOA is great. It has brought some major infrastructure improvements to some parks. But these temporary injections of money only mask what's going on in the park service, which is a slow but steady strangulation to death by lack of funding.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

It's a depressing fact that the conservation and protection of America's public lands and wilderness areas is very far back in the mind of the average American. It's nothing short of a top three priority for me alongside the preservation of our constitutional rights and promotion of domestic industries. We are never getting another TR in the White House, and nobody has even come close since.

- Same here. The scammer Eiki Batista tried to make a port here in SC, years ago. And the people suporting here, didnt knew how that would dammage the nature. The average person is pretty stupid what the impact of a simple road, can make in the wild life.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Pantanal waterway project would destroy a ‘paradise on Earth’, scientists warn​

The South American wetland, which falls within Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, would be vulnerable to biome loss and increased wildfires

The Paraguay River flowing through the Pantanal wetlands, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Dozens of scientists are sounding the alarm that carving a commercial waterway through the world’s largest wetlands could spell the “end of an entire biome”, and leave hundreds of thousands of hectares of land to be devastated by wildfires.

The Pantanal wetland – which falls within Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, covering an area almost half the size of Germany – is facing the proposed construction of a commercial waterway, as well as the expansion of industrial farming and spread of intense wildfires. A cohort of 40 scientists say the waterway development represents an existential threat to the ecosystem: reducing the floodplain, increasing the risk of fires and transforming the area into a landscape that could more easily be farmed.

Prof Karl M Wantzen, an ecologist from the University of Tours, and Unesco chair for river culture, said the wetland “is a real paradise on Earth. Nowhere else will you see so many hyacinth macaws, jaguars, swamp deer, anacondas, caymans, more than 300 fish species, 500 bird species, 2,500 species of water plants … All of that is at risk.”

The Brazilian government wants to develop the upper 435 miles (700km) of the Paraguay River into the Paraguay-Paraná hidrovia (waterway). In 2022 and 2023, preliminary licences were issued for the construction of port facilities within the Pantanal.

“If the hidrovia project goes ahead, navigation of large train barges in the Pantanal, with dredging in critical reaches of the Paraguay River, will probably mean the end of the Pantanal as we know it,” said Pierre Girard from the Federal University of Mato Grosso and Pantanal Research Center. “Reducing the annually flooded area, [coupled] with climate change and increased pressure on land use in the biome will increase the risks of destructive fires like the catastrophic ones seen in 2020 [when nearly a fifth of the area burned].”

In 2024, fires were the worst on record, with nearly 1.5m hectares (3.7m acres) burning across the Brazilian Pantanal by early August. Since 1985, the Pantanal has lost about 80% of its surface water – more than any other biome in Brazil. If the waterway goes ahead it is likely to further shrink the wetland, making it even more dry and vulnerable to wildfires such as those seen in 2020.

The upper section of the Paraguay River is sinuous and shallow. Making it navigable for 50-metre barges would mean extensive dredging, fixing of riverbanks and construction of ports. This would permanently alter the natural cycle of flooding and shrink the wetland area, researchers warned. Wantzen and Girard are two of more than 40 scientists who wrote a paper, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, arguing that the waterway must not be expanded into the wetlands.

Wantzen, the lead author, said he and his colleagues published it because “I really want the world to know what’s happening. I wanted to gather people to spell out what the current situation is. It would be a senseless tragedy.”

Smoke from wildfires rises into the air in the Pantanal, in Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, June 2024. By early August nearly 1.5m ha had burned. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

“The Paraguay River flowing through the Pantanal is the last large riverscape in central South America that still has near-natural structure. It represents the biocultural heritage of the Brazilian people and the entire world,” researchers wrote.

Dredging this area would result in “severe degradation of the globally outstanding biological and cultural diversity of the Pantanal”, the paper warned. The wetland is also home to Indigenous peoples whose livelihoods would be threatened. The paper said railways would be a more reliable and less disruptive way to transport goods.


The growth of industrial soya bean farming has driven demand for a commercial waterway to transport goods from areas of production in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia to the coastal seaports in Uruguay and Argentina. Barges would also carry sugar, corn, cement, iron and manganese. The markets for these goods is North America, Europe and Asia.

The argument for creating the waterway is that barges would be faster and cheaper than transporting these goods by truck. Due to the climate emergency and reduced flooding, even with dredging, scientists believe the water level in the river would be too low to allow navigation.

“Humanity is crazy, destroying everything it can and at high speed,”
said Mario Friedlander, who works in wildlife observation tourism and photography in Mato Grosso. “The operation of the waterway in the Pantanal is yet another serious attack against a place that is powerful in nature, but completely unprotected.”

Friedlander said that agricultural expansion had been one of the main developments destroying the area. He said: “We have so many fronts of destruction here, that I no longer know where to start the defence”

Responding to concerns raised by the scientists, the Brazilian Ministry for Ports and Airports said the paper contained “opinions” without “scientific elements to support them”.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...destroy-paradise-on-earth-scientists-warn-aoe

 

[Sinister]

He almost sounded like a hostage being forced to read a ransom note from his captors.

I bet he initially thought Yo-Semite was in Israel