With a key component of the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act set to expire at the end of this month, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources is set to meet Friday in Grand Teton National Park to consider whether to continue funding infrastructure in national parks.
The committee includes Wyoming Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman. It’s scheduled to hold an oversight hearing at 10 a.m. at the Jenny Lake Visitor Center in Grand Teton National Park. Several people are scheduled to speak before the committee, including Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins and Julie Calder, chair of the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board.
Act Included Two Funding Streams
The main topic will likely be the Legacy Restoration Fund section of the Great American Outdoors Act, which was signed into law by President Trump in 2020. The Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) authorized $1.9 billion per year for five years. That included $1.3 billion for the National Park Service, and the rest for other federal land-management agencies.
The fund was earmarked for infrastructure and maintenance backlogs for national parks and other federal lands and is set to expire at the end of September. The Act also included the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) – to be used by the federal government to purchase additional land or water. It permanently authorized $900 million per year for that purpose.
That fund was instrumental in sealing the $100 million sale to the federal government of the 640-acre Kelly Parcel in Teton County.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
