DEMA Backs Great American Outdoors Act

 With backing from DEMA and other outdoor recreation associations, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) was signed into law on August 4th by President Trump. The original bill was sponsored by Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), and co-sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of 59 other Senators, and it passed the Senate by a broad bipartisan vote of 73-25. The bill also passed in the House with another bipartisan vote of 310-107.

GAOA fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at a level of $900 million annually and addresses the approximately $20 billion maintenance backlog on federal public lands through a new "National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund.” The bill helps address priority repairs in national parks and on other public lands by directing up to $9.5 billion over five years to address maintenance needs within the National Park System, other public land agencies, and Bureau of Indian Education schools. It will also fully and permanently commit $900 million per year to the Land and Water Conservation Fund to ensure protection of, and access to, irreplaceable lands, waters and local recreation opportunities.

GAOA helps fund maintenance and conservation for diving areas in national parks such as:

• Acadia National Park
• America Samoa National Park
• Amistad National Recreation Area
• Apostle Islands National Park
• Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
• Biscayne National Park
• Buck Island Reef National Monument
• Cape Cod National Seashore
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore
• Cape Lookout National Seashore
• Channel Islands National Park
• Curecanti National Recreation Area
• Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
• Dry Tortugas National Park
• Fire Island National Seashore
• Gateway National Recreation Area
• Glacier National Park
• Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
• Grand Teton National Park
• Gulf Islands National Seashore
• Isle Royale National Park
• Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area
• Olympic National Park
• Ozark and Buffalo Rivers National Scenic Riverways
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
• Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park
• Redwood National Park
• Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve
• San Juan Islands National Historical Park
• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
• Virgin Islands National Park and Coral Reef Monument
• War in the Pacific National Historical Park
• Yellowstone National Park