** First Great American Outdoors Act funding dispersement announced
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Monday, April 5, 2021
Rocky Mountain National Park, G Yancy, Flickr ([link removed])

Last year, Congress passed the Great American Outdoors Act, a significant bipartisan investment in America's public lands. The law permanently funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund and allocated resources to address the maintenance backlog on public lands. On Friday, the Interior Department announced ([link removed]) the first dispersement of funds, which will invest $1.6 billion in 165 projects across the country.

The improvement projects will be in national parks, wildlife refuges, and Bureau of Indian Education schools, and will start to chip away at the significant backlog of deferred maintenance on public lands. Just within the national park system, the maintenance backlog has grown to $12 billion ([link removed]) since the 1990s.

In addition, the funding will cause cascading economic benefits. Interior announced that this set of projects will create nearly 19,000 jobs ([link removed]) and add $2 billion ([link removed]) to the country’s gross domestic product this year. “Through the Great American Outdoors Act, we are investing in the American people, and in the future of our public lands and sacred spaces,” said ([link removed]) Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Quick hits


** Interior Department creates unit to investigate missing and murdered Native Americans
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HuffPost ([link removed]) | ABC News ([link removed]) | Missoula Current ([link removed])


** Oil and gas leasing, permitting part of the climate debate
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Albuquerque Journal ([link removed])


** Interior assessing oil and gas leasing program to ensure taxpayers get fair 'return on their investment'
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The Hill ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed])


** Great American Outdoors Act funds allocated to 165 projects this year
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The Hill ([link removed]) | Wall Street Journal ([link removed])


** Low saguaro reproduction numbers threaten Saguaro National Park
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Opinion: Federal government should take a lesson from states in updating oil and gas leasing policies
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Denver Post ([link removed])


** Glacier, Rocky Mountain national parks launch reservation entry systems
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Rep. Neguse and Sen. Wyden: Why America needs a 21st century Civilian Conservation Corps
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Should filmmakers pay to shoot on public lands?
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Outside ([link removed])
Quote of the day
“We are lucky to have an Indigenous woman [as Interior Secretary] who truly understands the missing and murdered crisis in Indian Country and is taking immediate action to protect the lives of Native peoples.”
—Abigail Echo-Hawk, director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, HuffPost ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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Spring doesn't mean a lack of snow in many parts of the country. With an annual average of 43 feet a year, @CraterLakeNPS ([link removed]) is one of the snowiest places in the U.S. and can have lingering snow through May and June. Photo by Greg Nyquist ([link removed] ([link removed]) ) #Oregon ([link removed])

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