Eighty acres of grassland at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park will be restored through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law/NPS, Tom Engberg

Millions of dollars are being distributed across the National Park System for projects ranging from forest restoration and fisheries improvements to orphaned gas well reclamation work and a battle to save native Hawaiian birds from extinction.

The latest traunch of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is going to parks from Maine to Hawaii and seeks to both mitigate climate-change impacts and make parks more resilient to them.

Big South Fork National River And Recreation Area, Kentucky/Tennessee

More than $1 million is being spent to reclaim orphaned gas wells in the park.

The project will plug and reclaim six orphaned well sites throughout the park in Tennessee and Kentucky. The project funded by the Inflation Reduction Act will mitigate abandoned mine drainage and close open mine portals at Big South Fork NRRA. Methane pollution from many of these unplugged wells is a serious safety hazard and is a significant driver of climate change, with methane being more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

“Plugging the wells removes abandoned aboveground oil or gas production equipment, improves visitor safety and protects park groundwater and other park resources,” said Big South Fork Superintendent Niki Stephanie Nicholas. “The restoration of these sites through these investments will stabilize access roads and production sites and promote ecosystem health by planting native plant species.”

Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts

The National Park Service will use $461,538 from the Inflation Reduction Act to replace two failing culverts in the upper Herring River in Wellfleet. The project will build upon planning and design efforts already in place.

The Herring River provides a critical link between Cape Cod Bay and freshwater pond spawning habitat for river herring (alewife and blueback herring) and migratory habitat for American eels and other diadromous species. River herring are a species of management concern in Massachusetts and play a critical role in the larger ecology of the Gulf of Maine. This project will eliminate two barriers to fish passage, making the last one and one-half miles of stream and the breeding ponds more accessible to fish. Through this project as well as other restoration efforts taking place in the Herring River estuary, the park hopes to improve habitat and breeding success of river herring.

“Efforts to restore the larger Herring River estuary have been ongoing for decades and now many years of planning and science are coming to fruition with the beginning of restoration efforts,” said Superintendent Brian Carlstrom. “This project plays a key role in restoring roughly 380 acres of the upper Herring River watershed by improving hydrology and the migration pathway for river herring which play an important role in the natural and cultural history of Cape Cod. Inflation Reduction Act investment.”

Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland

Catoctin Mountain Park will plant more than 5,000 native trees and protect endangered species with $446,000 from the Inflation Reduction Act.

For more than a decade, the Park Service has worked to remove invasive plants and overabundant white-tailed deer from Catoctin Mountain Park, and the park has seen a 19-fold increase in seedling density. IRA funds will allow the park to move to the next phase of forest restoration by planting yellow poplar, sugar maple, oak and hickory trees, which will create habitat for state and federally listed species, including the endangered northern long-eared bat, Indiana bat and proposed endangered tricolored bat.

“The forest needs our help — removing invasive plants and overabundant deer is not enough,” said Catoctin Mountain Park Superintendent Rick Slade. “Investments from the Inflation Reduction Act will help us create a forest of healthy, abundant, and mature native trees, which are essential components of climate resilience and wildlife habitat.”

National park forests in the eastern United States, including those in Catoctin Mountain Park, are at risk because of browsing by overabundant white-tailed deer and invasive plants that outcompete native plants and change the environment, according to a National Park Service and Schoodic Institute study published earlier this year.

Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone national parks, Montana/Wyoming

Restoring federally threatened Whitebark Pine at nine national parks in Montana, Wyoming, California and Washington. This project builds on 20 years of work at Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and will cover more than 300,000 acres. Without this dedicated conservation effort, threats from plant disease, beetle infestation, changing fire regimes and climate change could cause irreversible loss of the species, as well to the ecosystem services provided by Whitebark Pine forests, including snow retention, reducing erosion, providing cover for other trees, and food for 19 wildlife species including the threatened grizzly bear.

Haleakalā National Park, Hawai'i

Haleakalā National Park is working to prevent the extinction of native Hawaiian forest birds with $2.9 million from the Inflation Reduction Act. The “Prevent the Extinction of Hawaiian Forest Birds” project is part of a nationwide effort to restore natural habitats and address climate change impacts.

The island of Maui is known for beautiful beaches, rich Hawaiian culture, and stunning biodiversity, but the island is at risk of losing some of its most iconic features — the Hawaiian honeycreepers, a group of native Hawaiian forest birds found nowhere else on earth. 

With this funding, and a multiagency partnership, Birds Not Mosquitoes, efforts are being made to suppress the non-native mosquito population that transmits avian malaria. This disease is driving the extinction of Maui’s forest birds, as a single bite from an infected mosquito can be fatal. 

Of the 17 remaining Hawaiian honeycreeper species, six are found on Maui. The critically endangered species, kiwikiu and ʻākohekohe, are only found on the eastern slopes of Haleakalā. Without intervention, these species are expected to become extinct within 10 years. 

From feather work to creation chants, forest birds are an integral part of Hawaiian history. Native Hawaiians and tourists alike find inspiration in these brightly colored birds and their distinctive songs and Haleakalā National Park and Birds Not Mosquitoes are working to ensure they are still here for generations to come.  

The Birds Not Mosquitoes partnership includes federal, state, private and non-profit entities. 

“In collaboration with our great partners, we celebrate State of Hawaiʻi proclaimed 'Hawaiian Honeycreeper Day' on August 8,” said Haleakalā Superintendent Natalie Gates. “It will be thanks to aligned efforts and awareness, and through Inflation Reduction Act investments, that we will save Hawaiian forest birds.” 

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, Ohio

Thirty-three acres of forest at Hopewell Culture will be restored along with 88 acres of grasslands with $150,000 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The first project will restore 33 acres of forest at Mound City Group and Seip Earthworks. Focusing on the removal of invasive honeysuckle along Hopewell earthworks, restoration will improve the forest understory and open views along the Scioto River. Visitors will have the opportunity to experience natural forests on a landscape that is predominantly used for agriculture.

The second project will restore 80 acres of grasslands near Seip Earthworks. This project will plant a mix of warm season grasses and forbs on non-forested lands. These grasses will provide diverse habitat for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. Visitors will be able to walk along scenic nature trails, view the earthworks, and enjoy wildlife. Restoring grasslands protects important cultural resources from erosion.

“Removing invasive species and planting native plants is key to restoring a balance in the ecosystem,” said Superintendent Chris Alford. “Through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments, restoration of these lands will provide new opportunities for visitors to connect with a landscape rich in cultural and natural history.”

Kathadin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument will build on past efforts to restore and improve aquatic passages (culverts and bridges) for Atlantic salmon with $138,461 in funds received from the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Over the past several years, park managers and staff have built durable bridges and culverts to improve Atlantic salmon habitat that has been degraded over time through aging infrastructure and effects from flooding. The additional funding will double these efforts by increasing the number of passage improvements and habitat restorations. Atlantic salmon will have greater access to breeding grounds, food resources and cool water refugia. Improved passage will also restore natural flow regimes and will benefit sensitive wetland resources, aquatic and terrestrial habitats and recreation sites up and downstream of the projects. 

“We are pleased to enhance Atlantic salmon habitat for the benefit of the greater Penobscot River watershed,” said Superintendent Mark Wimmer. “Investments from the Inflation Reduction Act will help us provide this project with needed infrastructure for many years to come.”  

Redwood National and State Parks, California

Redwood National and State Parks will implement a project to restore the iconic redwood forest this year with $8 million from the Inflation Reduction Act. This project is part of a nationwide effort to restore natural habitats and address climate change impacts.

This project restores degraded watersheds and critical habitat for endangered fish within Redwood National and State Parks in Northern California. IRA funding will be used to accelerate large-scale restoration in the Prairie Creek watershed, including forest thinning, restoring the natural slope, and stream rebuilding. The project will be implemented by the Redwoods Rising collaborative, an ambitious public/private, landscape-level restoration initiative between the National Park Service, California State Parks, and Save the Redwoods League to accelerate watershed restoration across 43,280 acres of park lands.

Since 2019, Redwoods Rising has restored thousands of acres of parklands by leveraging funding from private philanthropy, state, and federal fund sources to implement high priority restoration in two watersheds simultaneously. This project, under Redwoods Rising management, will engage tribal groups, youth, and local contractors to implement forest and watershed restoration through 2026. 

The project was strategically placed between two of the largest remaining old growth redwoods stands in the park to help connect these forest stands with healthy habitat for fish and wildlife. Specifically, this project will implement forest thinning in second-growth forests to accelerate the development of old growth forest conditions which will create more resilient and healthy forests while improving the forests’ ability to capture carbon and reducing the risks of catastrophic wildfires. The project also proposes to remove miles of legacy logging, mitigating catastrophic landslide risk while restoring stream health and enhancing critical wildlife habitat.

Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Restoring Sonoran Desert habitats in Saguaro by removing buffelgrass. Highly invasive and flammable, buffelgrass spreads quickly and displaces native plants.