Congress should honor Teddy Roosevelt and conserve our outdoors for the next 250 years

Conservatives person agelong understood that conservation is not astir locking distant America's earthy treasures, but stewarding them done liable usage truthful aboriginal generations tin bask the aforesaid nationalist lands that earlier generations worked hard to secure.

Just six years ago, President Donald Trump paid tribute to that bequest erstwhile helium signed the archetypal "Great American Outdoors Act" into law. That measure established the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), which budgeted for countless infrastructure projects wrong our astir precious landscapes. But that programme expired past year, threatening the aboriginal of America’s earthy inheritance.

As our state celebrates its 250th birthday, Congress should reauthorize the LRF, 1 of the astir palmy conservation achievements of Trump's archetypal term, by passing the Great American Outdoors Act 250 (GAOA 250). At a clip erstwhile Americans are visiting their nationalist parks successful grounds numbers and the deferred attraction backlog has grown to much than $40 billion, renewing the money is an indispensable constituent of liable stewardship.

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Setting an important precedent, President Theodore Roosevelt was vocal astir this benignant of stewardship of nationalist lands and conserving what helium called America’s "glorious heritage." His legacy, including the melodramatic enlargement of nationalist parks and instauration of dozens of monuments and wildlife refuges, shines arsenic a guiding illustration of blimpish tradition.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, left; Theodore Roosevelt, right. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Bernard Friel/Getty Images)

The aboriginal of that contented stands astatine a crossroads.

A failing sewage strategy astatine Yellowstone oregon Yosemite threatens wildlife and ranchers alike. Washed-out trails successful the Sierras mean less opportunities to link with household successful the large outdoors. And deficiency of attraction leaves our beloved forests susceptible to devastating wildfires. Ensuring these issues are handled is the basal tenets of caring for America's top earthy treasures.

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In precocious June, the House Natural Resources Committee precocious the GAOA 250 nether the enactment of Republican Chairman Bruce Westerman, who hails from "The Natural State" of Arkansas. GAOA 250 reauthorizes the LRF astatine $1.9 cardinal annually for different 5 years portion prioritizing mission-critical infrastructure and requiring a nationalist dashboard truthful taxpayers tin way each project. The authorities besides includes a overmuch overdue, and overlooked, provision.

International visitors bask the aforesaid parkland experiences arsenic their American counterparts, yet they bash not lend to the taxation revenues to prolong them. American citizens subsidize the planetary visitant interest spread erstwhile they some wage their national taxes and wage the entranceway fees. The overseas visitant surcharge, primitively introduced successful West Virginia Republican Rep. Riley Moore’s and Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks’s PATRIOT Parks legislation, present a constituent of GAOA 250, would close this imbalance.

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From Ecuador to New Zealand, countries crossed the satellite complaint planetary visitors a premium to entree their treasured lands. In that spirit, President Trump ordered a overseas visitant interest done enforcement action. But the adjacent medication could easy rescind that order, making imperishable authorities vital. The GAOA 250 overseas visitant surcharge would instrumentality 80% of the proceeds straight to the parks from which they were collected — proceeds to assistance wide trails, repair facilities and guarantee occurrence prevention maintenance.

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Two 100 50 years ago, the Founders staked everything to unafraid this onshore for posterity. The rivers and the valleys, the mountains and the deserts they died for, are present successful our keeping. We indispensable attraction for them with the aforesaid consciousness of work calved successful 1776.

President Theodore Roosevelt famously said, "Here is your country. Cherish these earthy wonders, cherish the earthy resources, cherish the past and romance arsenic a ineffable heritage, for your children and your children's children." Passing the Great American Outdoors Act 250 is simply a fitting day acquisition to our large federation and a committedness that the profound treasures of the archetypal 250 years volition basal for the 250 to come.

Chris Barnard is the president of the American Conservation Coalition Action (ACC Action). 

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