The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) believes that national parks and public lands are critical ecological reserves of biological diversity and serve as touchstones of our cultural and historical heritage. Management of the National Park System and its expansion are critical to the well-being of the nation.
ASLA supports the reauthorization and strengthening of the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF). This legislation is vital to ensuring sustained investments in repairing and maintaining America’s public lands infrastructure.
The National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, created under the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020, has successfully directed critical funding toward overdue repairs and maintenance of vital infrastructure on federal public lands. These projects include improvements to roads, wastewater systems, trails, visitor centers, and employee housing. However, deferred maintenance across national parks and public lands has ballooned to over $40 billion, highlighting the need for continued and enhanced support.
The America the Beautiful Act recognizes the growing maintenance needs and takes strategic action to address this crisis by increasing authorized funding, improving project planning, leveraging stakeholder contributions, and enhancing public awareness and transparency. The Act continues to support the federal-state partnership model while emphasizing sustainable asset management and public engagement.