Study shows Restore Our Parks legislation will support 100K jobs over next five years

U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Angus King (I-Maine) announced that a new National Parks Service study of their Restore Our Parks legislation found that the legislation will support an average of 40,300 direct jobs and a total of 100,100 direct and indirect jobs over the next five years to help address the more than $12 billion backlog in long-delayed maintenance projects at the NPS.

Next week, the Senate will consider S. 3422, the Great American Outdoors Act, landmark legislation to address the deferred maintenance backlog across the federal land management agencies and to provide permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Great American Outdoors Act includes the Restore Our Parks legislation, which will provide up to $6.5 billion over five years to address priority deferred maintenance needs at our national parks.

“America is hurting right now and folks need jobs. That’s why I’m so pleased the National Parks Service study shows that my bill with Senators Warner, King, and Alexander, the bipartisan Restore Our Parks Act, will support more than 40,000 direct jobs over the next five years as we rebuild our national parks infrastructure. The Restore Our Parks Act will address the $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog at our national park sites throughout the country, including the more than $100 million maintenance backlog in Ohio’s eight national parks. We need our parks more than ever, and our parks need us. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation when it comes to the Senate floor,” said Portman.

“For years, Congress has critically underfunded our national parks resulting in the buildup of $12 billion in deferred maintenance costs. Despite receiving more than 318 million visitors annually, our national parks have been unable to maintain upkeep and repairs on visitor centers, rest stops, trails, campgrounds, and transportation infrastructure operated by the Park Service. Addressing these critical needs will not only help preserve America’s story for generations to come, but it will help support the communities across the country that rely on the economic activity generated by our national parks. In the Commonwealth alone, our national parks support more than 16,000 jobs and contribute $953 million dollars in value added to our economy. I’ve been calling on Congress for years to make these much-needed investments and it’s time we get it done,” said Warner.

“The Great American Outdoors Act is the most important legislation in 50 years to help our national parks and public lands. In addition to cutting in half the deferred maintenance backlog for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and our nation’s 418 other national parks, the National Park Service just announced the legislation will help support over 100,000 new jobs, which is good news for a lot of American families. With the strong support of President Trump and over 800 conservation and sportsmen’s organizations and 59 Senate cosponsors, it should become law by the 4th of July,” said Alexander.

“Each year, millions of people come from across the globe to see the sun rise from Cadillac Mountain, walk to Thunder Hole, or explore any other of the breathtaking, one-of-a-kind vistas Acadia National Park has to offer,” said King. “When those people come to our state, they spend money – supporting Maine jobs, shops, industries, and communities. Today’s report makes clear just how vital ANP and other national parks around the country are to America’s economy, and emphasizes the importance of our bipartisan Restore Our Parks legislation – which, in light of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on tourism, is needed now more than ever.”