Our National Parks Are at a Crossroads

Five years ago today, our nation united to protect the places we cherish most. With overwhelming bipartisan Congressional support, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law, calling it a way to “preserve America’s majestic natural wonders, priceless historic treasures…grand national monuments and glorious national parks.” It was the largest investment in our national parks in more than 50 years, and a powerful promise to future generations.

Five years later, the Great American Outdoors Act is still delivering. This landmark law has created more than 72,500 jobs, contributed more than $8 billion to local economies and funded more than 600 long-overdue repair projects across the National Park System, including restoring walkways at the Statue of Liberty, rehabilitating the cemetery at Petersburg National Battlefield, upgrading campgrounds in Yosemite and Rocky Mountain, and making staff housing livable again in Glacier Bay and Great Sand Dunes.

In the past year alone, dozens more projects have broken ground in parks across the country. At Big Bend National Park in Texas, construction is underway to rebuild the Chisos Mountain Lodge with upgraded waterlines and improved energy efficiency. In North Dakota, the South Unit Scenic Loop at Theodore Roosevelt National Park is getting repaired after years of damage from landslides and poor drainage. California’s Death Valley National Park’s two largest water systems and main wastewater treatment facility are getting replaced after months of repeated breakdowns. And in Missouri, tour roads and parking areas at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield are being rehabilitated to improve visitor access and safety.

The America the Beautiful Act (S. 1547) … would extend this vital funding through 2033. It’s a bipartisan answer to a growing problem.

These investments go beyond roads and lodges. They’re also helping us rediscover and protect our shared history. During Great American Outdoors Act-funded trail work at Minuteman National Historical Park in Massachusetts, Park Service archeologists uncovered five 18th-century musket balls. Thanks to their presence on-site and the funding that enabled it, these musket balls — the literal “shots heard ‘round the world” — were preserved rather than destroyed.

The Park Service has proven what’s possible when you pair meaningful investment with dedicated public servants. With care, efficiency and accountability, park staff have transformed this once-in-a-generation funding into lasting, visible improvements across the country.

But now, that progress could stop unless Congress acts soon.

The maintenance funding from the Great American Outdoors Act will sunset at the end of 2025, but this vital source of support is still needed. The backlog of repairs won’t vanish on its own. And without continued investment, the gains made could begin to unravel.

Fortunately, there’s a solution within reach. The America the Beautiful Act (S. 1547), introduced by Senators Daines, King, Cramer and Warner, would extend this vital funding through 2033. It’s a bipartisan answer to a growing problem.

But as this funding deadline looms, our national parks are also grappling with a severe staffing crisis pushing the agency to its limits. Since January, the Park Service has lost more than 24% of its permanent staff. Hiring freezes, delayed seasonal hires, and mounting resignations and retirements have left parks dangerously understaffed and overwhelmed. Maintenance crews and other staff are being pulled from essential duties to clean bathrooms and manage visitor centers, while superintendents are being forced to make impossible decisions about what visitor services to cut and what repairs to put on hold.

The Great American Outdoors Act is funding hundreds of critical repairs, but without staff on the ground to coordinate, design, inspect and provide ongoing repairs and maintenance, all that time and money could go to waste. The success of the Great American Outdoors Act doesn’t just depend on dollars; it depends on people too.

The Great American Outdoors Act proves our country can unite around preserving our national park. It is a game-changing victory for our parks and the millions of Americans who cherish and depend on them. And it is a promise to future generations that we would preserve our shared natural and cultural heritage.

Congress has an opportunity to support a wildly popular bipartisan bill, but they must act now. Congress can fix our parks and restore the workforce that protects them every day. Park rangers, maintenance crews and other dedicated staff are the stewards who can ensure these significant investments will be maintained for the next generation.