May 01, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Steve Daines (R-MT), leaders of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee, are introducing bipartisan legislation to strengthen and better manage public lands across the country. The America the Beautiful Act would reauthorize the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) and increase its funding to address serious maintenance backlog and ensure that America’s public lands can be enjoyed for generations to come.
Senator King first introduced the bipartisan Restore Our Parks Act in July 2018 which established the “National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund” to reduce the maintenance backlog by allocating existing revenues the government collects from on and offshore energy development. It was passed in the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, but now requires reauthorization.
“People travel from across the globe to experience the natural beauty of America’s public lands — from Maine to Montana and across the nation,” said Senator King, Ranking Member of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee. “However, deferred repairs on aging infrastructure like roads and trails can become unsafe and diminish the visitor experience for those enjoying our public lands and National Parks. By addressing maintenance backlog and reauthorizing the Legacy Restoration Fund, the bipartisan America the Beautiful Act will help better protect our lands and the visitor experience. This is an important step forward in creating lasting protections for our public lands and continues to demonstrate that stewardship is not partisan.”
“When President Trump signed my Great American Outdoors Act into law in 2020, it was the greatest conservation win for Montana and the entire country in 50 years. I’m proud to work with my colleagues to strengthen that win and protect our outdoor way of life for generations to come,” said Senator Daines, Chairman of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee. “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.”
"America's parks are our legacy to uphold — and bold action is essential to fulfill that promise. The National Park Foundation applauds Senators Daines and King for their leadership in introducing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund,” said Jeff Reinbold, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation. “Since its establishment through the Great American Outdoors Act, this vital program has already delivered billions toward transformative infrastructure projects across our national parks. As we approach America's 250th anniversary, reauthorizing this investment affirms a bold democratic ideal — that every generation deserves to experience our parks as we do today. We look forward to working with Congress to ensure these magnificent landscapes and historic sites can continue welcoming visitors for generations to come.”
"We applaud the leadership of U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Angus King (I-ME) in reintroducing legislation to reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund. This proven, bipartisan investment keeps national parks running. The reauthorization of this bill will allow Acadia National Park to continue to make progress against a long list of needed projects that are essential for protecting resources and elevating the visitor experience. With nearly 4 million visits to Acadia in 2024 alone, and over 330 million to national parks nationwide, continued investment to maintain park infrastructure is critical," said Eric Stiles, President & CEO, Friends of Acadia.
The America the Beautiful Act reauthorizes the LRF for through 2033 and increases funding to $2 billion per year to help address the maintenance backlog in national parks and public lands. Currently, the maintenance backlog for each agency is as follows:
Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mark Warner (D-VA), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) are original cosponsors of the America the Beautiful Act. The legislation is supported by over 40 public lands, conservation and recreation groups.
Read the bill text HERE and a one pager on the bill HERE.
As a lifelong advocate for conservation and Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Senator King is among the Senate’s most prominent voices advocating for conservation. Senator King helped lead the passage the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) into law; the legislation that included the Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF). Because of his work, in 2020, Senator King was awarded the inaugural National Park Foundation (NPF) “Hero” Award. Since the creation of the LRF, Senator King has pushed park leaders to discuss funding maintenance efforts, maintaining a sufficient NPS workforce, and managing growing park visitation.
Senator King’s work on this legislation is the culmination of more than four decades of work on land conservation efforts in Maine, including helping to establish the Land for Maine’s Future program in 1987 and supporting extensive conservation projects during his time as Governor. Under King’s leadership in his eight years as Maine governor, he put more Maine land under conservation than in the state’s 175 year history.
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