Will help build the national and local outdoor recreation economies and get more Americans outdoors
Outdoor Recreation Roundtable statement on the announcement by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture Fy23 budget proposal to invest $2.8 billion – $1.9 billion for the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) and full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million annually – to address critical deferred maintenance projects and improve transportation and recreation infrastructure in national parks, national wildlife refuges and recreation areas, and at Bureau of Indian Education schools.
“We have the best public lands, waters and outdoor businesses in the world right here in the United States, but if Americans can’t access them with sound roads or if the campgrounds, marinas and trails are in disrepair or unsafe, then we are missing out on economic opportunity and undermining our American outdoor heritage,” said ORR president, Jessica Turner. “The announcement of a $2.8 billion investment in public lands infrastructure and access is huge for the nation’s and local communities’ economies and a testimony to the years of work ORR, Congress and other outdoor recreation leaders put into passing the Great American Outdoors Act.”
Turner continued, “While there is still much work to be done to bolster our public lands and waters, create more access to the outdoors for more Americans and build more sustainable communities, we all should be proud of this budget proposal and the outdoor opportunities and memories it will contribute to in the future.”
Read the full press release from the Department of the Interior