• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Recreation Northwest

  • About Us
    • Our Crew
    • Boards
    • Finances
    • Fiscal Support
    • In the Press
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Programs
    • Education
    • Advocacy
    • Our History
  • Confluence
  • Donate

The Confluence

Recreation Northwest Applauds our U.S. House Representatives for Supporting the  Great American Outdoors Act

July 23, 2020 by Todd Elsworth Leave a Comment

The legislation will help restore deteriorating parks and public lands nationwide.   

Bellingham, WA — The U.S. House of Representatives took an historic vote on July 22,  when it approved the Great American Outdoors Act, a bill that will invest in priority repairs at National Park Service (NPS) sites in Washington State and across the country.Washington’s 15 national park units, including Mount Rainier, the North Cascades and Olympic National Park, have $427 million in deferred maintenance, just part of the multi-billion backlog threatening park resources and local economies. 

 

The Senate passed the legislation by an overwhelming bipartisan vote in June. The bill will also address repairs on other public lands and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, an important tool that preserves access to public lands and provides resources to urban and rural communities for recreation facilities. We thank the following Washington State Representatives who voted for the Great American Outdoors Act. 

The legislation is the most significant investment  in almost 65 years for national parks and public lands.  Equally important, it will  help our local community and businesses get back on their feet and will generate more jobs.  

“Our local economies depend on the tourism dollars that our park sites generate, especially in rural areas. Our parks need to be in good shape to ensure they’re accessible and safe for visitors, who in turn support our economy.  In 2019, 8.8 million park visitors spent an estimated $535 million in local gateway regions while visiting National Park Service lands in Washington. These expenditures supported a total of 6,150 jobs, $249 million in labor income, $457 million in value added, and $710 million in economic output in the Washington economy. Source: NPS Visitor Spending. 

Park tourism contributes over $41.7 billion to the national economy annually and supports over 340,000 jobs. This legislation has the backing of more than 900 organizations including local towns and cities, the recreation industry, veterans groups, hotel and lodging, infrastructure associations, preservation groups, hunters and anglers,  conservation organizations, and local businesses. 

Todd Elsworth

As Executive Director of Recreation Northwest, Todd Elsworth promotes outdoor recreation and brings community together to enjoy, preserve and improve the places where we play. His decades of extensive event production, marketing and writing experience propel this passion. You might bump into him and his daughter Violet while they’re biking, hiking, paddling or skiing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Share

Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With: #FUNDLWCF, Great American Outdoors Act, House of Representatives, Land and Water Conservation Fund, public lands, Senate, vote

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Blog Categories

  • Fairhaven Park
    (30)
  • Parkscriptions
    (1)
  • Press Releases
    (28)
  • Racer Journals
    (8)
  • Recreation Economy
    (64)
  • Recreation Northwest
    (245)
  • Recreation Northwest EXPO
    (22)
  • Stewardship
    (19)

Footer

Contact Us

Mailing Address:
Recreation Northwest
PO Box 2771
Bellingham, WA 98227

Recreation Northwest

Sign up to stay connected via our email, The Confluence

Recreation Northwest is a 501(c)3 charity. All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Our non-profit federal tax-exempt number is 46-1774882.

site by highwaters