The Department of the Interior will invest $1.6-billion in 2021 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.
This unprecedented investment will support an estimated 18,851 jobs and contribute $2 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2021. The funding was made possible by the newly created National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund established in 2020 by the Great American Outdoors Act.
The 165 deferred maintenance projects planned by the Department of the Interior using Fiscal Year 2021 funding will improve recreation facilities, visitor centers, dams, water and utility infrastructure, schools and other historic structures.
Other projects aim to increase public access by restoring and repairing roads, trails, bridges, and parking areas. Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller Memorial parkway currently have $188-million in deferred maintenance while Yellowstone has a backlog of nearly $563.5-million in deferred maintenance.
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