At an overlook in Mesa Verde National Park during a late morning, spectators look at ancient cliff dwellings. A plaque helps people explore their imagination by setting the stage of what life was like over 700 years ago when the Ancestral Pueblo thrived there – the aroma of food cooking, children playing and trails leading on to other places nearby.
National Parks and Federal lands have given visitors the pleasure to visit the protected outdoors for recreation and beauty. Montezuma County residents don’t have to travel far to remember and enjoy what’s basically in their own backyard.
To honor the third anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act, the Department of the Interior provides fee-free days Aug. 4 on all public lands that it manages, including lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
On Aug. 4, 2020, the Department of the Interior enacted the GAOA. As years passed with shrinking budgets and an increasing number of visitors, something had to be done to maintain and repair facilities and infrastructure; hence, the GAOA. The act funds national parks, public lands and roads, national wildlife refuges and Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools.
Nationally, the DOI manages 2,400 locations, taking up 20% of the country’s total lands and waters. Colorado hosts 15 areas that include national trails, parks and monuments.
While entrance fees are waived today, other fees such as overnight camping, cabin rentals and group day use still remain in effect.
“The Great American Outdoors Act is essential to conserving, restoring and protecting lands and waters across the nation to help address the climate and biodiversity crises, increase equitable access to the great outdoors and strengthen the economy,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a news release. “I encourage everyone to experience the beauty and bounty of our nation’s public lands – not just on August 4 but every day of the year.”
GAOA established the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund and was authorized to give up to $1.9 billion annually for five years from 2021 to 2025. The act also gives $900 million annually to the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Energy development revenues – oil, gas, coal and alternative energy development on Federal land and water – fund 50% of the GAOA-LRF, up to $1.9 billion a year.
GAOA also collaborates with funding from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful initiative.
