The Ahwahnee Hotel rehabilitation is one of 600-plus infrastructure improvement projects taking place in national parks funded by the Great American Outdoors Act/NPS
“The Great American Outdoors Act is one of the largest infusions of funding in the history of the National Park Service, enabling us to make long-needed repairs and improvements on everything from iconic buildings to trails, roads, bridges, lodges, campgrounds, utility systems and landscapes,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.
National parks across all 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia are benefitting from GAOA. More than 600 projects, ranging from replacing a split-rail fence at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park to rehabilitating a campground at Zion National Park, are taking place in more than 250 national parks.
GAOA is helping address the extensive deferred maintenance and repair needs in national parks. Much of the infrastructure in national parks is aging and unable to properly accommodate the growing number of visitors. GAOA’s Legacy Restoration Fund authorized up to $1.3 billion per year from 2021-2025 for transformative projects that protect resources and provide opportunities for recreation, education, and enjoyment for current and future visitors. The funding is provided by royalties from offshore oil and gas leases and not taxpayer dollars.
“GAOA is the driving force behind much needed infrastructure repairs and updates taking place in national parks, including the projects to repair and restore Foothills Parkway, Newfound Gap Road, and Lakeview Drive in the park," said Barbara Hatcher, chief of facility management for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “However, with more than 12 million visitors a year using and enjoying the roads, an ongoing source of funding and maintenance is crucial to ensure the proper care of these investments.”
Here are some other examples of GAOA in action.
Greenways:
Most everyone enjoys a drive in a park. After decades of harsh weather and heavy traffic, many of the most scenic and popular roads in national parks are being refurbished by GAOA, including the Blue Ridge Parkway, the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Skyline Drive (Shenandoah National Park), Going-to-the Sun Road (Glacier National Park), Glacier Point Road (Yosemite National Park), the Colonial Parkway (Colonial National Historical Park), Stevens Canyon Road (Mount Rainier National Park), Foothills Parkway (Great Smoky Mountains National Park), Moose-Wilson Road (Grand Teton National Park), South Unit Scenic Loop (Theodore Roosevelt National Park), Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area’s Loop Road, and the section of Yellowstone National Park’s Loop Road from Old Faithful to West Thumb. These projects are ripping out years of band aid patches to provide smoother and safer rides. They are also upgrading associated drainage systems, retaining walls, culverts, curbs, and parking where appropriate.
Access:
More than 325 million people annually seek experiences in national parks because they are sources of inspiration, relaxation, recreation, and restoration for body, mind, and spirit. GAOA is expanding equitable and accessible recreational opportunities for all by addressing long overdue infrastructure improvement and modernization needs in national parks. Since many of the repairs are to aging infrastructure which predates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the projects are also creating more welcoming places by incorporating universal standards for accessibility.
Accessible trail improvement projects range from a subterrain walkway deep within Mammoth Cave to a heavily used bike and pedestrian path along the Potomac River in the heart of Washington, D.C. These accessibility improvements will enable more people to explore the outdoors and form connections with public lands in ways not previously available.
Saratoga National Historical Park recently completed a GAOA-funded $6 million Battlefield Tour Road Improvement Project to increase access and understanding of its pivotal American landscape. The large-scale construction project focused on making upgrades and increasing accessibility of parking areas, trailheads, walkways, seating, signage, exhibits and viewing areas along the park’s popular 10-mile-long tour route. The parking areas and walkways at each tour stop were totally revamped to improve accessibility, including the addition of seating with companion seating, audio descriptions, and exhibits that feature the use of added color contrast, appropriate fonts and font size, tactile bronze relief maps, touchable replica items, braille, and proper installation heights that increase accessibility and comprehension for all visitors.
In addition to funding deferred maintenance and repair projects, GAOA guarantees full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million annually. LWCF provides recreation opportunities by safeguarding natural areas, water resources and cultural heritage. Since its inception in 1965, LWCF has funded $6.1 billion to support more than 46,000 projects in nearly every county in the country.
Opportunity:
GAOA improvements are providing upgraded facilities for visitor use and enjoyment, including overnight accommodations. Several historic lodges, including at Mammoth Cave, Big Bend, and Yosemite national parks, are being renovated.
Popular campgrounds are also getting much needed face lifts. Campsites are being better defined, uneven tent surfaces smoothed out, fire rings and picnic tables replaced, unruly vegetation cleared, and bathroom and water lines upgraded in Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Yosemite, Zion, and Mount Rainier national parks.
Park visitors and staff are also benefitting from work on unseen but vital upgrades to water and utility systems that are providing better and more consistent service and eliminating the need for repeated patchwork repairs. The rehabilitation or replacement of outdated office and maintenance facilities will improve how NPS employees work and live.
Members of youth corps have opportunities for apprenticeships in traditional trades with GAOA-funded National Park Service Maintenance Action Teams, which are training a new generation of skilled craftspeople in historic preservation. These geographically based teams will complete approximately 435 historic preservation projects in parks throughout the country including in Capitol Reef National Park, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, Antietam National Battlefield, and Dinosaur National Monument.
It is estimated that GAOA is creating 72,000 jobs overall, resulting in $15.9 billion in economic benefits to the national economy. GAOA projects often employ contractors and people from nearby communities. The economic benefits will continue even when the projects are done, demonstrating that GAOA is not only restoring the country’s historic and cultural heritage and enhancing accessible and quality visitor experiences, but also creating and supporting jobs nationwide.
Attractions:
GAOA is funding historic preservation or restoration at iconic locations throughout the country, including the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin, the Statue of Liberty and the main Ellis Island Immigration Building, Civil Rights sites in Freedom Riders National Monument, the Texas White House at Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, the First Bank in Independence National Historical Park, the Presidio in Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Dorchester Monument and the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston National Historical Park, the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park, the historic main parade ground barracks at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, the canal prism and historic dry-stone wall of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, and buildings and landscape at Minute Man National Historical Park.
GAOA investments are directly influencing public enjoyment and satisfaction of their national parks. With dozens of projects already completed or under construction, visitors are already benefitting from improved facilities nationwide and will continue to do so long into the future with proper care and maintenance.
