This bill renames and revises the Great American Outdoors Act's maintenance fund, increases dedicated funding through new, higher fees for foreign visitors, and sets spending priorities for deferred maintenance across public lands agencies.
Bruce Westerman
Representative
AR-4
This bill, the Great American Outdoors Act 250, significantly reforms and renames the existing public lands restoration fund to the America’s Legacy Restoration Fund. It secures dedicated funding streams, primarily from energy revenues and new fees on foreign visitors, to address critical deferred maintenance across the National Park Service, Forest Service, and other public land agencies. The legislation establishes strict spending priorities for infrastructure repair while also creating pilot programs for enhancing outdoor recreation and sportsmen's access. Finally, it mandates increased transparency and accountability through standardized metrics and public reporting on all funded projects.
Great American Outdoors Act 250: $1.9 Billion Annual Maintenance Surge Paired with $100 Entrance Fees for Foreign Tourists
The Great American Outdoors Act 250 is a massive infrastructure play for our national parks and forests. It rebrands the existing restoration fund to the America’s Legacy Restoration Fund and funnels up to $1.9 billion annually through 2030 into fixing the 'deferred maintenance' backlog—think crumbling trails, leaky visitor centers, and washed-out roads. The money comes from a mix of energy development revenues (like oil and gas) and a brand-new, significantly higher fee structure for international visitors. If you’ve ever been frustrated by a closed campground or a pothole-filled park road, this bill is designed to be the mechanic that finally gets under the hood and fixes it.
The Price of Admission
Section 3 of the bill introduces a major shift in how we fund our parks by tapping into international tourism. Under the new rules, any foreign visitor on a B-category visa or the Visa Waiver Program will be charged a minimum of $100 per person for entrance or amenity fees. This isn't just a small hike; it’s a mandatory surcharge on top of existing fees. For a foreign family of four visiting the Grand Canyon, the entry price just jumped by at least $400. Furthermore, the standard annual 'America the Beautiful' pass, which costs locals $80, will cost international tourists at least $250. This revenue goes directly into the restoration fund, essentially asking international guests to shoulder a larger share of the repair bill for our public lands.
Breaking Down the Repair Bill
The bill doesn't just throw money at the problem; it dictates exactly which agencies get a slice of the pie. The National Park Service takes the lions' share at 70%, followed by the Forest Service at 15%, with the remaining 15% split between the Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Education (Section 2). There are strict 'spending floors' to ensure the money isn't just spent on paving roads. For example, the National Park Service must spend at least 70% of its allocation on 'nontransportation' projects, like fixing historic buildings or restoring landscape features. For a local hiker, this could mean finally seeing that dilapidated bridge on your favorite trail get the structural work it has needed for a decade.
Transparency and Fast-Track Fixes
To keep things from getting bogged down in red tape, the bill requires the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to create a 'geospatial dashboard'—a public, searchable map where you can track every project’s cost, timeline, and status. It also streamlines the process by creating a 'categorical exclusion' for environmental reviews on maintenance projects, meaning repairs can bypass some of the lengthier paperwork typically required for new construction. While this speeds up the work, it also shifts more power to the agencies to green-light projects quickly. Additionally, the bill allows for 'Maintenance Action Teams' and partnerships with nonprofits to get the work done, provided that at least 80% of certain revenues are spent in the specific park unit where they were collected. This ensures that if a popular park generates a lot of cash, it sees the benefits locally rather than watching the funds disappear into a general pot.