U.S. Travel Thanks Congress, POTUS for Supporting Public Lands

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement hailing the signing of the public lands package (AKA the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act—S.47):

“The broad value of our public lands is evident in this bill’s bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. In 2017, 331 million national park visitors spent $18 billion in gateway communities, supporting 306,000 jobs and generating nearly $36 billion in national economic output. Our public lands are crucial to the American economy and the many gateway communities that rely on them to be well-maintained and attractive to visitors.  

“This is a crucial first step, but we hope the momentum from the passage of this bill will spur Congress to establish a dedicated source of funding to tackle the $12 billion maintenance backlog in our national parks.

“We thank the president for acting on this bill, and Senate Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for her leadership in guiding it to passage.”