Legislation to reauthorize federal funding to the National Park Foundation for philanthropic matching funds has been introduced into Congress/Rebecca Latson file

Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in Congress to increase funding the National Park Foundation can use to seek matching philanthropic dollars to support national parks.

The measure, carried by U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Angus King (I-ME), and Steve Daines (R-MT) along with U.S. Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Bruce Westerman (R-AR), calls for reauthorization of federal funding for the Foundation through fiscal year 2030 and increases the authorization level from $5 million to $15 million.

This funding is used by the Foundation to match private donations that help finance crucial deferred maintenance, Service Corps, and historic preservation, and other signature projects and programs of the National Park Service at national parks in Ohio and around the country.

The National Park Foundation was created in 1967 as the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. Its mission is to generate private support and build strategic partnerships to protect and enhance America’s national parks for present and future generations.

The Foundation has, to date, received a total of $23 million in federal appropriations. Each year, the Foundation works, at a minimum, to double the impact of the federal dollars — meaning an annual appropriation of $5 million would have an impact of at least $10 million in national parks around the country.

Portman led the 2016 National Park Service Centennial Act (P.L. 114-289), which authorized the National Park Foundation to receive up to $5 million in annual appropriations through FY 2023. The National Park Foundation matches these federal funds with a minimum of 1:1 in private philanthropic support for priority NPS projects and programs and works with local philanthropic partners to further leverage federal dollars. Most recently, Portman secured the full $5 million for the National Park Foundation in the FY 2022 government funding bill that was signed into law in March 2022.

“The National Park Foundation is an incredibly important partner to our national parks, bringing together federal and private funding to help preserve these natural and cultural treasures for our future generations to enjoy,” Portman on Tuesday. “Increasing funding for the National Park Foundation, as this legislation would do, will help us strengthen relationships with private partners and support efforts to restore our national parks.”

“America’s National Parks are among the world’s greatest treasures, providing memorable experiences to millions from around the globe. For more than 50 years, the Congressionally-chartered National Park Foundation has played a vital role in protecting these lands for current and future Americans,” said King, who chairs the Senate's National Parks Subcommittee.

“From expanding camping access at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument to restoring wetlands in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the NPF has successfully worked to preserve and expand access to America’s parks. Our bipartisan funding expansion and reauthorization for the NPF will strengthen this essential federal conservation partner, enabling them to continue supporting our national parks and the communities across the country that rely on them.”

At the Foundation, President and CEO Will Shafroth said the organization supports the National Park Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2022.

“Since receiving federal funds for the first time in 2018, the National Park Foundation has leveraged the federal funding through the power of private philanthropy to match and more than double this critically important federal investment, adding to the tens of millions of private, philanthropic dollars the National Park Foundation and a growing community of park partners invest in America’s national parks each year," said Shafroth.