A quartet of senators has introduced legislation to continue funding to address maintenance projects across public lands. A mile-long section of underground trail at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky was rehabilitated thanks to a $6.5 million infusion of Great America Outdoors Act funds/NPS file

A bipartisan quartet of senators has introduced legislation that would extend the Great American Outdoors Act's benefits with more than $11 billion spread out over eight years to tackle maintenance backlogs on federal lands across the country.

Introduced Thursday by Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Mark Warner (D-Virginia), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), and Steve Daines (R-Montana), the America the Beautiful Act calls for $11.2 billion to be provided to land-management agencies under the Interior and Agriculture departments. The measure also calls for the departments to be open to public donations to help tackle the work, and for agencies to identify structures that no longer "serve the public interest or advance the mission of the applicable unit to which the asset belongs."

The Great American Outdoors Act, signed into law by President Trump in 2020, has provided $1.3 billion a year for the National Park Service to tackle overdue maintenance work. During the first three years of the funding, which is set to run out at the end of fiscal 2025, national park units in every state have benefitted to some degree, with "approximately $4 billion for more than 100 large-scale infrastructure projects and 300 smaller historic preservation activities throughout the country. Projects range from the restoration of the marble colonnade of the Jefferson Memorial to the reconstruction of a portion of Stevens Canyon Road, the only east-west route for vehicles, in Mount Rainier National Park," according to the National Park Service.

“Millions of people flock to national parks every year to experience some of our nation’s best landscapes and most significant stories. National parks are icons of our country, and Americans love them. They also want to see them supported. And this bill is a promise that we will continue to take care of the places that mean so much to so many people," said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association. "NPCA has worked tirelessly with our congressional champions and many partners and communities across the country to make possible this reinvestment in our national parks and public lands. Our national parks need and deserve this investment, and so do all the people who care for these places."

However, the backlog continues to grow each year even while some projects are tackled.