Great American Outdoors Act National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund Newsroom

“Projects like Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge’s Visitor Center illustrate how the Great American Outdoors Act is increasing outdoor recreation opportunities and enhancing people’s experiences in nature," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams. “It is exciting to see this innovation in action, where sustainable buildings in harmony with the environment ensure all people have the chance to connect with the natural world."

Secretary Haaland traveled to Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to tour various GAOA-funded projects. The refuge received $13.5 million in GAOA funding to address more than 30 deferred maintenance backlogged projects, including improving river access and employee housing, creating a safer and more ecologically friendly access for visitors, and installing new culverts to improve fish passage in the Kenai Peninsula.

The National Parks of Boston began the more than $30 million restoration of Dorchester Heights Monument on September 15. Funded by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), rehabilitation work will be complete by March 17, 2026, Evacuation Day, during the nation’s 250th birthday year. The Monument and its surrounding area remain closed to the public during the restoration.

Secretary Haaland and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz toured Great Smoky Mountains National Park to see how investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) are making historic investments.

On her first visit to the Midwest Region, Director Williams stopped by Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, the only international wildlife refuge in North America. Located along the lower Detroit River and western shoreline of Lake Erie - just 20 miles south of Detroit, Mich., and 50 miles north of Toledo, Ohio, the refuge provided a backdrop for Director Williams to learn about the latest from the Service’s Fish and Aquatic Conservation program’s work with many partners to conserve lake sturgeon. Her visit also highlighted the results of Great American Outdoors Act funding to increase access to public lands and waters in the greater Detroit metropolitan area. 

Blue Ridge Parkway, which is managed by the National Park Service, has also received approximately $200 million from the Great American Outdoors Act for severely needed repair work on over 100 miles of scenic motor road. 

Mammoth Cave National Park officials and invited guests gathered inside Mammoth Cave today to mark the completion of a one-year project to rehabilitate approximately one mile of cave trail. The project was funded through the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) and has made significant improvements to cave infrastructure for visitor safety, tour experience, and natural and cultural resource protection inside Mammoth Cave.

Secretary Haaland also visited Rocky Mountain National Park, where she toured several projects funded by the Great America Outdoors Act to improve recreational access for park visitors. The park is receiving nearly $20 million from the Act to rehabilitate water, wastewater and electrical distribution systems and improve accessibility, address fire risk, and modernize the Moraine Park Campground.

Using funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, a crew of skilled tradesfolk from the National Park Service's Historic Preservation Training Center are working on preserving one of the mooring keys at Pearl Harbor.

On Wednesday, August 16, 2023, the Texas Conservation Corps/SAAN Acequia Crew and the San Antonio River Authority worked together at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park to relocate Sagittaria plants from the Mission San Juan acequia to the San Antonio River for habitat restoration. Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) Maintenance Action Teams (MAT) like this one are making a difference in hundreds of national parks.