8 ways hikers are benefitting from critical federal funding
WTA was thrilled in 2020 when we rallied our hiking community and joined with partners to help pass the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). Here’s some of the work that the GAOA has supported in Washington state, from 2021 through 2023, to help support millions of outdoor experiences.
WTA was thrilled in 2020 when we rallied our hiking community and joined with partners to help pass the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).
This landmark piece of legislation provides up to $2.8 billion annually to protect public lands and improve opportunities for the public to access them. GAOA is funding projects across the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Education. The funding lasts through 2025, when the act expires.
Here’s some of the work that the Great American Outdoors Act has funded in Washington state, from 2021 through 2023, to help support millions of outdoor experiences.
Illustration by Jenica Nordstrom.
- 16.7 miles of road repaired
- 289 miles of trail improved
- 18 bridges restored
- 16 bathrooms installed
- 70 recreation sites upgraded
- 27 accessibility improvements
- 73,017 WTA volunteer and staff trail work hours
- 1 Lost Trails Found crew created
From calling for the needed funding to working on the ground to restoring trails, WTA is proud to be part of GAOA’s success. GAOA helped fund WTA’s first paid Lost Trails Found crew in 2021. That support increased WTA’s ability to restore neglected backcountry trails that are at risk of disappearing due to shrinking land manager budgets and wildfire impacts.
The increased level of funding that the GAOA provides for our national public lands is having a major impact across Washington. Along with upgrades to trails, roads, bathrooms and campgrounds to help people experience the outdoors, there are many aspects of GAOA-funded projects that are difficult to quantify. These include protection of our natural resources, improved visitor safety, climate change resilience and increased accessibility of infrastructure. We are grateful for the investment in our public lands.
Comments
not2ez on 8 ways hikers are benefitting from critical federal funding
I don’t know if GAOA is responsible for some of the improvements I’ve seen in the last few years but we are enjoying some of the new or updated facilities, mainly bathrooms and showers. One new building at Kaniskat-Palmer State Park is an example in how to do it right. The new building has five family shower rooms, each with a shower, toilet, sink and mirror, electrical outlets and a good heater. The rooms are big about 15’x18’ so an entire family can use it at the same time. The floor is even that decorative flake epoxy finish m, well sloped for drainage and three drains. I’ve seen some new trail and park signage as well.
Posted by:
not2ez on Feb 08, 2024 08:09 PM
melanib on 8 ways hikers are benefitting from critical federal funding
Hi, not2ez, I'm WTA's advocacy coordinator. Thanks for your comment, and I'm glad to hear you've been seeing improvements! Because the GAOA funds projects on federal lands (national parks, national forests, etc.) it is not responsible for upgrades at Kaniskat-Palmer State Park. But WTA does also advocate for funding needed for our state public lands. For example, in 2022, we worked with partners to secure a new source of $5 million annual maintenance funding each for WA State Parks, WA Dept. of Natural Resources and WA Dept. of Fish and Widlife, which could potentially be funding the improvements you are seeing. Thanks for being part of WTA; we couldn't achieve such wins without hikers like you speaking up with us!
Posted by:
melanib on Feb 09, 2024 09:37 AM
Mark from the Internet on 8 ways hikers are benefitting from critical federal funding
Understand that some GAOA projects can't be quantified. But for the ones that CAN, is it possible to share more details on where specifically these listed upgrades were done? That'll let us check out the changes up close :)
Posted by:
Mark from the Internet on Feb 13, 2024 11:57 AM
melanib on 8 ways hikers are benefitting from critical federal funding
Great question, Mark from the Internet! This is Melani, WTA's advocacy coordinator. For those of you in the greater Seattle area, GAOA funding is responsible for repairing the bridge to the Big Four Ice Caves viewpoint and for maintenance/construction on trails and other infrastructure at Denny Creek, Melakwa Lake, Annette Lake and Snow Lake. To get specific updates going forward, you can join WTA's Trail Action Network (wta.org/tan), if you aren't part of it already.
Posted by:
melanib on Feb 13, 2024 02:24 PM
Christofer on 8 ways hikers are benefitting from critical federal funding
This is great news and we must stop people from destroying what you have achieved to be responsible stewards of our forests. I see people in the National Parks disrespecting what we have. The WTA must also make sure they’re using the money they receive in a mindful use and not waste the money we give them. I’m an avid hiker and backpacker and respect what has been given to us. I hope down the road I could volunteer my time for now I’ll donate my money to WTA and the National Parks
Posted by:
Christofer on Feb 16, 2025 12:43 PM