GAOA LRF Project Spotlights

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

GAOA LRF-funded Maintenance Action Teams (MATs) mobilize quickly to complete maintenance and repair work at small and medium-sized national parks and wildlife refuges across the country. Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge protects more than 48,000 acres of coastal habitat in southern New Jersey. The refuge’s location in one of the Atlantic Flyway’s most active flight paths makes it an important link in seasonal bird migration. The kitchen and living room of a quarters building at the refuge were outdated and non-functioning. A MAT rehabilitated both rooms, replaced the deteriorating back deck, and upgraded the main floor bathroom. These investments improved the functionality, safety, and durability of the building so it can be more comfortable for staff and better support mission objectives.

Bureau of Indian Education

The GAOA LRF supports the demolition and replacement of Bureau of Indian Education-funded school campuses to modernize facilities for the thousands of students and staff in Tribal communities. Many Farms High School, located in the heart of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, serves students from grades nine through 12. This project is consolidating the education programs previously housed in multiple buildings on the campus into a single, energy-efficient facility to create a safe and positive environment conducive to learning. The project will also improve security systems, install new perimeter fencing, expand parking, and improve accessibility.  

Bureau of Land Management

The GAOA LRF keeps staff and volunteers safe by funding repairs to assets that are essential to maintaining safe operating conditions for law enforcement, wildland firefighters, and field staff. The Stellar Creek Road is a natural surface road in Montana that provides critical access to lands supporting wildland fire management as well as recreation and commercial activities. The road had degraded and was at risk of becoming impassable from culvert failure and washout. This project repaired safety issues resulting from two large head cuts that threatened the roadway structure and put the only public access route to a large block of land at risk. Repairs included constructing step down structures at the two culvert locations and rebuilding the roadway to ensure continued safe access for the public, as well as wildland fire crews throughout Montana.

National Park Service

GAOA LRF-funded Maintenance Action Teams (MATs) at the National Park Service provide on-the-ground training in a variety of trades, including historic restoration and preservation work, to a new generation of tradespeople and public land stewards. Through the GAOA LRF MAT program, a group of aspiring preservationists from Conservation Corps New Mexico teamed up with a master stonemason to address deferred maintenance at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Located in southeastern New Mexico, the park is home to some of the most spectacular examples of underground geologic features found anywhere in the United States. The team repaired and rehabilitated the park’s historic westbound masonry guardrail along the 1934 entrance road as well as sections of the batflight amphitheater. The team also repointed more than 600 linear feet of the historic masonry guardrail with new mortar and replaced loose limestone cap stones. Thanks to the MAT work, the park received much-needed care, and a new generation of tradespeople developed their preservation skills and knowledge.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

GAOA LRF infrastructure investments reduce annual operating costs, reduce future maintenance needs, update inefficient utility systems, and improve working conditions for employees, volunteers, and visitors. The Coastal Delaware National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex, which includes Bombay Hook NWR and Prime Hook NWR, protects one of the largest remaining expanses of tidal salt marsh habitats in the mid-Atlantic region and is home to migratory birds, horseshoe crabs, and terrapins. Buildings at these locations had serious maintenance issues, including foundation issues, substantial energy inefficiencies, and aging utility infrastructure. This project replaced aged facilities at both locations with a smaller, combined use facility at Bombay Hook NWR and a Visitor Contact Station at Prime Hook NWR. The Bombay Hook facility will provide visitor exhibits, environmental education, a Friends of Bombay Hook shop, and administrative space for the Coastal Delaware Complex. The Prime Hook NWR space is designed for volunteer or unstaffed information sharing. These new facilities are safer, more efficient, and promote public engagement and natural resource education.

Bureau of Indian Education

The GAOA LRF invests in Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools for current and future generations. This project demolished 266,058 square feet of uninhabitable and unsafe buildings at five school campuses in the Navajo region across Arizona and New Mexico: Lukachukai Boarding School, Mariano Lake Community School, Ojo Encino Day School, Pueblo Pintado Community School, And T’iis Nazbas Community School. Removing these abandoned buildings and resolving the associated health and safety hazards has improved the educational environment for students, teachers, and staff.

Bureau of Land Management

GAOA LRF funds crucial investments that repair aging infrastructure so visitors can continue to enjoy our public lands for generations to come. The Chimney Rock Campground is situated just a few miles south of Prineville, Oregon, nestled between a spectacular backdrop of steep basalt cliffs and the Lower Crooked Wild and Scenic River. Locals and visitors to central Oregon have long visited the site for camping, fishing, and relaxing in one of the state’s most beautiful locations. Due to decades of increasing use, the site had declined and required repair. This project replaced one of the existing site water wells, redesigned site grading to better handle surface water flow, installed interpretive kiosks, improved a large group area and day-use area, replaced a double vault toilet with new single vault toilet, and reshaped parking lots with addition of parking, roads, and campsites that meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Project work also included better defining campsites to help ensure protection of the Wild and Scenic River corridor. These investments create a safer and more enjoyable experience for all visitors and support the local economy with increased tourism at Chimney Rock.

National Park Service

GAOA LRF investments expand public and recreational access by repairing critical roads serving as primary access routes to recreational destinations, restoring scenic drives, replacing bridges, and updating trails and pathways. Theodore Roosevelt National Park preserves and protects an incredible landscape that deeply influenced Theodore Roosevelt's life, politics, and philosophy. This project repairs multiple major roadway failure points, drainage systems, road base, and asphalt along the beautiful 48-mile South Unit Scenic Road (Route 11), which has been inaccessible to vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic since 2019 following multiple slides. This investment will restore access and enable park visitors to traverse the full scenic drive, which was traveled by approximately 85 percent of the South Unit’s visitors prior to closure.