Amata Highlights Five Years of the Historic Great American Outdoors Act
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is highlighting the five-year anniversary of the signing of the historic Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) on August 4, 2020. This bipartisan legislation, signed into law by President Trump in his first term, is the largest ever investment into U.S. public lands, and it bolstered the National Parks System (NPS), permanently funded and supported the important Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and established the instrumental Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF).
At the time, the legislation was widely described as the most substantial conservation legislation in a generation, as well as hailed as “a conservationist’s dream” by the National Parks Conservation Association.
The Act provided new legislative underpinnings for grants and other funding, as the LCWF helps support the four main federal land programs: National Parks, National Forests, Fish and Wildlife, and Bureau of Land Management, as well as grants to state, territory, tribal and local governments for recreation and conservation projects.
The Act requires $900 million per year in perpetuity for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This flagship conservation program is funded by royalty payments from offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters, putting that financial support back into conservation. The LWCF was established in 1964 but until passage of the GAOA, full funding has rarely been appropriated. In September 2018, Amata voted in the Natural Resources Committee for permanent authorization of the LWCF. That authorization was accomplished by Congress in 2019, then funded fully in 2020.
Congress allocated $9 billion over five years through the Legacy Restoration Fund specifically to confront the longstanding nationwide backlog in maintenance and repair needs, including erosion, trail maintenance, Visitor Center upgrades, plumbing problems, and many more repair projects to reopen park sites or restore the visitor experience, supporting 72,500 jobs in nearly 400 projects.
“Any funds for improvements, maintenance or even basic upkeep efforts to our beautiful National Park of American Samoa or any other national park since 2020 have roots in this overall major legislation,” said Congresswoman Amata. “The LWCF also supports the local parks and recreation efforts by states, territories, and cities, beyond those of the National Park System, and has provided past support to our territory in that way.”
The United States is home to 63 National Parks and 433 sites in the National Park System, including monuments, memorials, battlefields, historic sites, and scenic trails. In 2023, these places attracted 33 million visits, and brought $26.4 billion to the communities surrounding all sites.
Of these, the National Park of American Samoa is unique in several ways, as the only one south of the Equator, a multi-site Park on several islands, home to South Pacific plants and wildlife species not found anywhere else in the U.S., and the inclusion of offshore preserved coral reefs.
“The Great American Outdoors Act made a new national commitment to the wonderful places attracting visitors in every state and territory,” concluded Amata. “Federally funded long term maintenance provides local jobs in each location and protects permanent value, ongoing attraction to visitors, and in American Samoa’s case, lease payments.”
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