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Great American Outdoors Act

Two people wearing hard hats and bright orange safety vests working to install a wood post with a handicap reserved parking sign attached to the top, in front of a forest restroom facility.
FY24 Legacy Restoration Fund Projects Selected

Recently, USDA announced 255 authorized and funded deferred maintenance projects for Fiscal Year 2024 using Legacy Restoration Funding as legislation enters its fourth year out of five

 

Before and after images, side by side, showing trees that have fallen across a forest trail on the Modoc National Forest, and after they have been cleared from the trail.
See How We’re Doing

The GAOA-Legacy Restoration Fund Dashboard allows views to access project data and status on more than 950 deferred maintenance projects across our national forests and grasslands.

 

A grader and steam roller compactor being used to lay down a blacktop road service on the Modoc National Forest.
Contracts Underway

View the GAOA-Legacy Restoration Fund Awards and Obligations Dashboard to see how these deferred maintenance projects are benefiting local partners and contributing both urban and rural economies across the United States.

 


Enacted into law on August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) continues to provide new opportunities for the USDA Forest Service to deliver benefits to the American public through major investments in infrastructure, recreation facilities, public lands access, and land and water conservation.

The GAOA has two components: (1) establishment of the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) and funded it for five years to address the maintenance backlog for five land management agencies (USDA Forest Service, National Parks Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Education) in fiscal years 2021-2025, and (2) permanent full funding of the Land and Water Conservation fund (LWCF) which provides for federal land acquisition and Forest Legacy grants to states under existing programs.

These investments in Forest Service infrastructure, recreation facilities, and public lands access demonstrate the agency’s commitment to caring for the land and serving people.

Project Impacts on Local Communities

 

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Legacy Restoration Fund

The Forest Service currently administers more than 372,000 miles of roads, 6,600 bridges, 163,000 miles of trails, 7,400 trail bridges, 460 dams and reservoirs, 1,100 communications sites, 30,000 recreation sites, nearly 5,000 each of drinking water and wastewater systems, and 40,000 buildings. The Legacy Restoration Fund allows the Forest Service to address deferred maintenance on these critical facilities as well as improve critical infrastructure essential for use and enjoyment of national forests and grasslands. The Forest Service receives 15 percent of all LRF funds, up to a maximum of $285 million per year through Fiscal Year 2025.

More information is available from the regions and forests where these projects are taking place.

 

Land and Water Conservation Fund

The Great American Outdoors Act secures $900 million in permanent funding each year for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), managed by the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior. The Forest Service administers two LWCF programs – the Forest Legacy Program and the Land Acquisition program – that together conserve critical and strategic lands across the nation’s forests and grasslands. Forest Service LWCF projects enhance recreational access to existing public lands, conserve working timberlands vital for local economies, and protect critical watersheds.

For more information about LWCF, visit:

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For additional information about individual deferred maintenance projects funded through the Legacy Restoration Fund near you, please contact your local USDA Forest Service regional office:

Map of the Forest Service regions

R1 - Northern Region
R2 - Rocky Mountain Region
R3 - Southwestern Region
R4 - Intermountain Region
R5 - Pacific Southwest Region
R6 - Pacific Northwest Region
R8 - Southern Region
R9 - Eastern Region
R10 - Alaska Region
Research and Development

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/gaoa