Great American Outdoors Act National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (GAOA LRF) projects are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and multiple U.S. territories to address priority maintenance needs at national parks, national wildlife refuges, on other public lands, and at Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-funded schools. 

GAOA LRF projects fund the repair and maintenance of a wide range of Department of the Interior (Interior) assets including campsites, trails, roads, bridges, parking lots, BIE-funded school facilities, water and wastewater systems, energy systems, communications infrastructure, and more. Project selection for GAOA LRF is based on four key criteria: maximizing the number of citizens served, improving financial health, protecting those we serve, and planning for the future by repairing and modernizing Interior assets. These criteria help to ensure that GAOA LRF projects support Interior’s mission while having the greatest impact possible. Without this historic investment, assets in our national parks, national wildlife refuges, and other public lands could fall into disrepair and risk the safety of our visitors, employees, and volunteers, as well as our natural and cultural resources. This investment also helps prevent assets at BIE-funded schools from falling into disrepair and interrupting student learning and housing. 
The benefits of GAOA LRF projects are wide-ranging, from positively impacting visitors’ experiences, local communities, wildlife, and the environment to increasing the quality of education available to students at BIE-funded schools. For more information about project benefits, visit our GAOA LRF Program Impact webpage. 

Check out the Project Spotlights below to explore some GAOA LRF projects! 

Project Spotlights

Access Repairs at White Mountains National Recreation Area

Bureau of Land Management

Located just an hour’s drive from Fairbanks, Alaska, the one-million-acre White Mountains National Recreation Area offers stunning scenery, peaceful solitude, and outstanding opportunities for year-round recreation. This project will repair the deteriorating Nome Creek Road, which provides access to the recreation area and sole road access to Beaver Creek Wild and Scenic River. Project work will include surface grading and restoration, culvert repairs to improve the road’s drainage abilities, and rehabilitation of the side roads that provide access to Mt. Prindle and Ophir Creek campgrounds. Further infrastructure improvements will repair major culvert headwalls to prevent further water damage, restore gabion baskets around an existing bridge, correct site drainage at the Mt. Prindle campground, and replace wayfinding signs and campground informational signs. This work will better prepare the road for extreme climate conditions and keep the road accessible for the recreating public. 

Education Demolition Project in the Navajo Region 

Bureau of Indian Education

This project is demolishing 173,556 feet of excess buildings, which are currently uninhabitable and unsafe, at six schools in the Navajo region, in Arizona and New Mexico: Pinon Community School, Nenahnezad Boarding School, Red Rock Day School, Greyhills Academy High School, Tonalea (Red Lake) Day School, and Atsá Biyáázh Community School. Removing these buildings will improve safety for students, teachers, and staff. 

Stabilization and Restoration of Historic Structures at Indiana Dunes National Park

National Park Service

Indiana Dunes National Park offers visitors over 15,000 acres of shifting sand dunes, quiet woodlands, sunny prairies, and lush wetlands on the shores of Lake Michigan in Indiana. This project is rehabilitating the site’s most popular historic structures at the Bailly Homestead, Good Fellow Camp, and the House of Tomorrow. The historic structures pose safety concerns to the public, with most closed due to structural instability. This project includes historic rehabilitation, connecting municipal water and wastewater systems, relocating power lines underground, providing code compliant accessibility, and incorporating modern technologies for energy efficiency and sustainability. Repairs will enable the facilities to better tell the park’s long-standing history through important educational and interpretive programming. 

Modernizing Infrastructure and Improving Recreational Access at Camas National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Camas National Wildlife Refuge, located in Idaho, was established to benefit nesting waterfowl and offers unique views of scenic mountain ranges in nearly every direction. This project is rehabilitating the refuge’s water delivery systems, which were originally built in the 1960s. Changes in local agricultural practices have altered the hydrology of the area, making it difficult to manage water effectively for migratory birds and other wildlife. Project work includes rehabilitating or relocating wells closer to productive wetlands, replacing and restoring open water delivery ditches, improving the refuge’s wetlands by relocating the Camas Creek diversion structure, restoring the refuge’s riparian areas, and improving public use facilities along the auto-tour route. These improvements will support the refuge’s mission to protect waterfowl species and improve safety and accessibility for visitors and employees utilizing the auto-tour route. 

Site Maintenance at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area

Bureau of Land Management

The Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is a highly visited recreation destination offering exquisite views of the Oregon coast at the state’s tallest lighthouse, constructed in the early 1870’s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Because of the coastal environment combined with high visitation, the site requires extensive maintenance repairs to correct the lighthouse’s structural issues and site’s deteriorating buildings. The project will protect and conserve the historic lighthouse, as well as the site’s interpretive center, multipurpose building, parking area, restroom facilities, and fencing. Improvements at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area will help ensure that the site can continue to host a high volume of visitors by mitigating potential safety hazards and asset failures. 

Southwest – Education Demolition Project

Bureau of Indian Education

Excess buildings at Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools can pose safety hazards, be energy inefficient, and diminish the learning environment for students. This project will demolish 9,613 square feet of excess buildings and remediate the building sites at three schools in New Mexico, Ohkay Owingeh Community School, Haak’U Community Academy, and San Felipe Pueblo Elementary School. Removing these buildings will improve safety, decrease nuisance issues, and improve aesthetics of school sites for students, teachers, and staff.

Maintenance Action Team at Camp Nelson National Monument 

National Park Service

Camp Nelson National Monument in Kentucky was established by the U.S. Army as a fortified supply depot in 1863 but evolved to serve as a shelter for civilians fleeing war and for enslaved people hoping to secure their freedom during the Civil War. A Maintenance Action Team at the National Park Service recently replaced 3,400 linear feet of split rail fencing and performed maintenance on approximately 475 linear feet of stone wall. Work was carried out in partnership with the American Conservation Experience (ACE), a nonprofit that provides young people with opportunities to work on meaningful conservation projects on public lands. Improvements at Camp Nelson will help preserve the site’s historic landscape and better designate properly lines and boundaries. 

Learn more about the Maintenance Action Team responsible for these important upgrades here: 
Historic Preservation Project at Camp Nelson National Monument Delivers Practical and Meaningful Experience 
Rewarding Historic Preservation Project at Camp Nelson National Monument Unlocks New Opportunities

Maintenance Action Team at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, located along the northeast coast of Massachusetts, provides high-quality opportunities for nature-based and water-based recreation, including hiking, biking, wildlife observation, swimming, and paddling. A Maintenance Action Team from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service installed over 1,200 square feet of bird window collision mitigation stickers and completed sealing, cleaning, and preparing the trim on the visitor center and office windows. These improvements make the refuge safer for resident and migratory bird populations.  

Click an icon below to explore a bureau GAOA LRF website