Hoeven Helps Advance Legislation He Cosponsored to Address National Park Service Maintenance Backlog

At a meeting of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week, Senator John Hoeven helped advance the Restore Our Parks Act, bipartisan legislation he cosponsored to address the maintenance backlog at the National Park Service (NPS). This includes an estimated $52 million for deferred maintenance in North Dakota.

“Our state’s parks help visitors to, and residents of, North Dakota experience our tremendous landscapes and rich heritage of outdoor recreation,” said Hoeven. “Our legislation uses existing federal revenues to help ensure NPS facilities can continue to deliver quality services and educate the public about the history of our state and lands.”

The legislation would use 50 percent of the excess revenues from energy development on federal lands to establish a NPS Legacy Restoration Fund. These revenues are already owed to the federal government, would require no new taxes and would not impact revenues that go to the states for mineral and energy development on federal lands.

Further, the bill would authorize the NPS Director and Interior Secretary to accept cash or in-kind donations to the restoration fund to encourage relevant public-private partnerships. An expected $6.5 billion would accrue to the fund over a five-year period.