Here Comes The Greenwashing

A bipartisan group of lawmakers plan to campaign on a $1.9 billion public land fund, but the problem it’s supposed to address is growing at over $12 billion each year.

A new, “Great American Outdoors Act 250” bill was just introduced in the House. It would reauthorize the expiring Legacy Restoration Fund at its current level—$1.9 billion annually—for the next five years. The problem is, the public lands maintenance backlog it’s intended to address is, according to recent testify by the interior secretary, expanding each year by at least ten times that amount.

To recap, 2020’s Great American Outdoors Act permanently authorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund at the intended level Congress set in 1978, without adjusting that amount for inflation. The purpose of LWCF is to acquire new public land.

GAOA also established a separate “Legacy Restoration Fund” intended to address the multi-billion dollar maintenance backlog on public lands, and funded that with $1.9 billion over five years.

Since LRF funding expired last year, it’s in need of re-authorization. GAOA 250 does that at the same dollar amount, again unadjusted for inflation, for another five years.

Separately, a Senate Bill entitled the America the Beautiful Act was introduced last year. It seeks to re-authorize LRF funding through 2033, again without adjusting it for inflation, so the amount of maintenance it buys will decrease each year.

$1.9 billion today was $1.5 billion in 2020.

The public lands maintenance backlog in 2020 was $26.24 billion. As of the last official accounting, that number last year, after five years of LRF spending, was $41.13 billion. Neither number adjusted for inflation.

While we don’t have an official total yet in 2026, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum was asked about the backlog while testifying in front of the House in April. There, he revealed that the backlog for the National Park Service alone has increased by $12 billion since Trump took office last January, taking the total maintenance backlog for that agency alone to $35 billion.

LWCF and LRF funds are drawn from royalties earned from offshore oil and gas drilling and therefore bring no cost to the American taxpayer. Applying $1.9 billion in free money to a problem that currently totals over $50 billion, and which is growing by at least $12 billion a year is a sad joke.

GAOA was introduced by Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) and Jared Huffman (D-California). Ryan Zinke (R-Santa Barbara) inexplicably added his name to it as well, even though he didn’t help write it.

The America The Beautiful Act was introduced by Steve Daines (R-Montana) and Angus King (I-Maine).

Separately, DOI just announced an upcoming “review” of Wilderness Study Areas, which cover 11.1 million acres nationwide as a follow on to USDA’s plan to destroy both areas of recommended Wilderness and the Roadless Rule.

Top Photo: BLM

A journalist with more than two decades of experience working around the world, Wes Siler is here to cut through the outrage and disinformation to bring you the factual, insightful, actionable reporting you need to understand what’s going on. Upgrading to a paid subscription supports this reporting, and buys personal access to Wes, who will help you save money on gear, plan outdoor adventures, and prepare for real life, and who promises he’s less salty in real life than he sometimes comes across as on the Internet.