WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week the President signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, a bill Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen helped introduce earlier this year.
The legislation, which earned bipartisan support, will fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and reduce the $19 billion maintenance backlog on public lands.
According to a statement from Rosen’s office, there are 16 pending LWCF projects in Nevada, totaling $7,242,456 and the newly passed Great American Outdoors Act would give NV $4.5 million in funding to address deferred maintenance on National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management lands
“I couldn’t be prouder that this bipartisan legislation that I helped introduce is now law,” said Senator Rosen. “Our public lands and parks are a source of natural wonder and an important part of our heritage in Nevada.”
In addition to natural wonder and heritage, public lands and outdoor recreation are vital to Nevada’s economy, generating more than $1.1 billion annually in state and local revenue and responsible for almost 90,000 jobs, according to estimates from the Outdoor Business Association.
Funding for deferred maintenance projects at the Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Indian Education schools is also included in the act.