Latest news with #LegacyRestorationFunds
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Daines proposes expanding federal funds for some public land projects
May 7—Montana's senators are backing efforts to extend a $2 billion pot of funding for maintenance projects on public lands. The America the Beautiful Act aims to reduce some of the $40 billion worth of deferred maintenance costs federal land agencies currently face by reauthorizing and expanding the Legacy Restoration Fund established through the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020. The fund directs revenues the federal government receives for energy development projects towards road and infrastructure repairs on public lands. "The America the Beautiful Act will fund crucial projects and address maintenance backlogs, so that people can get outside and enjoy the natural beauty we're lucky to have here in the U.S.," said Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines at a May 1 press conference. Daines introduced the America the Beautiful Act alongside Sen. Angus King, I-ME. Half a dozen other lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, including Montana's junior Republican senator, Tim Sheehy, have signed on as bill sponsors. Under the America the Beautiful Act, annual allocations through the Legacy Restoration Fund would increase from $1.9 billion to $2 billion a year through 2033. Of those funds, 70% go to the National Park Service, the agency with the largest amount of deferred maintenance costs. The U.S. Forest Service receives 15% of the annual funds, and the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Education each receive 5%. The American the Beautiful Act introduces slight modifications to this selection criteria by adding prioritization for projects that provide at least a 15% match in funds. The bill also allows for funds to be used on any U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. Currently, the agency can only apply funds to projects on national wildlife refuges. Many of the country's largest conservation organizations have rallied behind the bill. The Kalispell Chamber, Glacier Park Land Owners, Glacier National Park Conservancy and the Flathead County Board of Commissioners also provided statements of support referencing the $52.7 million the fund has contributed towards maintenance projects in Glacier National Park. The three projects the park financed with Legacy Restoration Funds include ongoing repairs to the 9.3-mile section of the Going-to-the-Sun Road that runs alongside McDonald Lake and updates to wastewater and water distribution systems in the Swiftcurrent area and at park headquarters. Another $20 million has been designated from the fund for lands in Montana administered by the Bureau of Land Management. President Donald Trump described the Great American Outdoors Act as "truly landmark legislation" during his first presidency and lauded the bipartisan partnership that brought the bill to his desk, but the America the Beautiful Act comes at a time of large-scale federal funding cuts. Among the line items in the Trump Administration's proposed budget plan is a $73 million reduction in the National Park Service's annual construction budget. While the document suggests the president may continue to support the use of Restoration Legacy Funds for construction projects in national parks, it also points toward potential changes in how these funds are allocated. "The Biden administration wasted federal funding on construction projects at sites that are more appropriately managed at the local level ... The president's deregulatory agenda will ensure that the Great American Outdoors Act funding for construction would go further than ever," the budget states. The America the Beautiful Act was referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. A hearing has yet to be scheduled. Reporter Hailey Smalley may be reached at 758-4433 or hsmalley@
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
Here's how much the feds put into Utah's national parks
More than 11 million people visited Utah's 'Mighty Five' national parks last year, a 5% increase over the previous year. In fact, national park visitation in the state grew 100% between 2005 and 2024. At the same time, National Park Service jobs grew 8%, according to a new report from the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. As of 2024, more than 1,200 federal employees worked in tourism-related jobs in Utah, including 658 in leisure and hospitality (including national parks and recreation jobs) and 605 at the Federal Aviation Administration, per the report. In addition to Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park and Zion National Park, Utah is home to 13 other national monuments, national recreation and geologic areas and national historic places. 'President Theodore Roosevelt established Utah's first national monument, Natural Bridges, in 1908,' Jennifer Leaver, Gardner senior tourism analyst, said in the report. 'Since then, the state's travel and tourism industry has boomed, with its 18 national parks and places receiving upwards of 16 million combined visitors annually.' Park visitors spent $1.9 billion in Utah, generating a $3 billion economic impact in the state in 2023, according to the National Parks Service. Utah ranked third for national park visitor spending behind California and North Carolina. All 18 parks in Utah are staffed by federal employees and receive federal funding. The federal government allocated $48.9 million in ongoing funds to Utah's parks in 2023 and over $143 million in Great American Outdoor Act National Parks and Legacy Restoration Funds since 2021, according to the report. The state's parks receive a combination of U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Transportation ongoing and one-time funds annually. The money includes $103.2 million for national park projects, $24.6 million for 13 Bureau of Land management projects, and $15.5 million for one Forest Service Project. Utah's national parks and places comprise 5.6 million acres of land in the state. The National Parks Service manages all of them except for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Jurassic national monuments and Ashley Karst and Flaming Gorge national recreation areas. Southwestern, southeastern, and northwestern Utah had the highest number of federal leisure and hospitality jobs in 2024, excluding FAA jobs, which are concentrated in Salt Lake County, according to the report. Garfield, Wayne, and Grand counties had the largest shares of federal leisure and hospitality jobs to total jobs. Like the national parks and places, the state's airports also receive federal funding and employ federal workers. FAA jobs include air traffic controllers, aviation safety inspectors, aviation engineers and technical specialists. The U.S. Department of Transportation allocated $50.5 million in its Airport Improvement Program grant funds to the Salt Lake City International Airport and six regional and 11 municipal airports in 2024, per the report. The Salt Lake airport saw a record 28.3 million passengers last year. The Salt Lake airport received most of that funding ($34.8 million), while Utah's regional and municipal airports received $4.9 and $10.8 million, respectively. Utah's public transportation systems, including airports, roads, bridges, mass transit, and electric vehicle charging stations, have also received hundreds of millions of additional federal grant dollars in recent years. The report is the Gardner Institute's sixth in a series on state and federal economic connections.
