Washington, DC— Yesterday, co-chairs of the National Parks Caucus Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX)—along with members of the National Parks Caucus—sent a letter to House Leaders asking for the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act to be brought to the floor for a vote. This bipartisan legislation would provide $6.5 billion over five years to help address priority repairs within our parks and public lands.

“Like many Americans, some of my favorite memories center around trips my family and I have taken to our national parks. National parks carry a unique natural, historic, and economic importance to our country, and without congressional action to address the needs of our national parks, these lands will suffer and repairs will become more costly,” said Rep. Ron Kind, founder and co-chair of the bipartisan National Parks Caucus. “The Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act is a bipartisan and fiscally sensible solution that will fix the backlog of maintenance, address staffing needs, and increase accessibility so that future generations are able to continue to enjoy our national treasures.”

“Nature is not just a destination, it’s our home. We must make sure that our national parks and historic sites, including the eight I represent, continue to provide immeasurable cultural, environmental and economic benefits across local communities for generations to come,” said Rep. Will Hurd, co-chair of the bipartisan National Parks Caucus. “I am proud of the hard work my colleagues and I have put into the bipartisan Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act to reduce the nearly $12 billion backlog our National Park Service faces in repairing critical park structures, and I hope to see it on the House floor soon. The future of our parks depends on it.”

Aging infrastructure and record visitation at many park sites, combined with inconsistent annual deferred maintenance funding over decades, has resulted in an overall National Park Service repair backlog of almost $12 billion. Nationwide, parks contribute over $40 billion to our economy and generate over 325,000 jobs each year.

Read the letter here.

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