123 Partners Urge Congress to Reauthorize Legacy Restoration Fund
We, the National Park Foundation, the National Park Friends Alliance, and the community of official national park philanthropic partners listed below, urge Congress to reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) by passing the bipartisan America the Beautiful Act (S.1547 / H.R.9250) to continue supporting, protecting, and enhancing America’s 433 national parks.
The LRF was first established nearly six years ago, when Congress passed and President Trump signed the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act of 2020 (GAOA) to address overdue maintenance needs in our national parks. The fund provided $1.3 billion annually, totaling $6.5 billion over its five-year lifespan, to undertake nearly 400 priority infrastructure projects across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
This landmark investment in our national parks and public lands delivered measurable results and improvements to critical park infrastructure, including road repairs, upgrades to trails and campgrounds, restoration of historic structures, rehabilitation of utility systems, and modernization of visitor facilities. These projects have preserved America’s natural and historical legacy – uniquely American places that are the envy of the world. They enhanced access, improved safety, and elevated and modernized the visitor experience. In addition, the LRF’s investment delivered irrefutable economic impact, supporting more than 72,000 jobs, injecting $5 billion into the labor market nationwide, and contributing $8 billion to the nation’s GDP.2 These benefits have been felt most acutely by the local communities across the nation that depend upon healthy, thriving parks.
Unfortunately, the LRF expired on September 30, 2025, and much work remains to keep our parks and public lands safe and accessible. While the LRF made a sizable dent in the National Park Service’s (NPS) maintenance needs, its reauthorization is essential if we are to sustain our national commitment to stewarding these cherished places. Renewing the LRF will allow NPS and the other public lands bureaus to expand the impact of these landmark investments to date. By leveraging and improving upon the systems already in place, with a strong emphasis on support from national park partners and nonprofits to deploy dollars where needed, new LRF funding will be utilized quickly, efficiently, and effectively for the highest-need infrastructure projects across the country.
As a community invested in supporting NPS and these treasured places, we focus on raising philanthropic funds to support our parks and surrounding communities. In 2025, NPF and the
community of park partner organizations collectively provided over $720 million in private funds for our national parks. These charitable funds, coupled with federal investment from the LRF, result in a force multiplier effect, enabling NPS to address more vital infrastructure repair, maintenance, and modernization projects that ensure our parks are fit for the future and the millions of visitors looking to explore them. We look forward to working with Congress and NPS as we sustain private financial support for the awe-inspiring places that define the American landscape.
America’s national parks and historic sites welcomed over 323 million visitors in 2025 and have been center stage in celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday this year. There is no better way to uphold the legacy of our country and the sites that hold our national story than by reauthorizing the LRF, ensuring that future generations experience the beauty and benefits of our beloved parks.
Sincerely,
National Park Foundation
Accokeek Foundation
Alice Ferguson Foundation
Amache Alliance
American Battlefield Trust
American Conservation Experience
Arizona Deserts National Parks Partnership
Badlands National Park Conservancy
Baltimore National Heritage Area
Big Bend Conservancy
Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
C&O Canal Trust
Cabrillo National Monument Foundation
Canyonlands Natural History Association
Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy
Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Conservation Legacy
Delaware River Greenway Partnership
Denali Education Center
Dunes Learning Center
Eastern National
Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, Inc.
Expeditions in Education
Friends of Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National
Historical Park
Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes
Friends of the Apostle Islands National
Lakeshore
Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore
Friends of the Dunes
Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds National
Monument
Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail
Friends of the National World War II Memorial
Friends of the Niobrara
Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau
Friends of the Vicksburg National Military Park
and Campaign
Friends of Virgin Islands National Park
Gateway Arch Park Foundation
Gettysburg Foundation
Glen Canyon Conservancy
Grand Canyon Conservancy
Grand Teton National Park Foundation
Great Basin National Park Foundation
Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association
Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
Groundwork USA
Haleakalā Conservancy
Hamilton Partnership for Paterson
Ice Age Trail Alliance
ICOMOS-USA and World Heritage USA
Independence Historical Trust
Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy
Jefferson National Parks Association
Joshua Tree National Park Association
Katmai Conservancy
Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National
Heritage Area
Lincoln Presidential Foundation
Mission Heritage Partners
Mississippi Park Connection
Montana Conservation Corps
Mount Rushmore Society
National Park Partners of Chickamauga,
Chattanooga, and Moccasin Bend
National Park Trust
National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation
NatureBridge
Oregon Parks Forever
Outer Banks Forever
National Park Friends Alliance
Frances Perkins Center
Friends of Acadia
Friends of Andersonville
Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks
Friends of Black Canyon
Friends of Charleston National Parks
Friends of Congaree Swamp
Friends of Dick Proenneke and Lake Clark
National Park
Friends of Dyke Marsh
Friends of First State
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National
Park
Friends of Haleakalā National Park
Friends of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Friends of Katahdin Woods & Waters
Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
Friends of Minidoka
Friends of Minute Man National Park
Friends of Peirce Mill
Friends of Pullman National Historical Park
Pacific Historic Parks
Partnership for the National Trails System
Pinnacles National Park Foundation
Pocono Environmental Education Center
Point Reyes National Seashore Association
Potrero Group
River Raisin National Battlefield Park
Foundation
Rivers of Steel
Rock Creek Conservancy
Rocky Mountain Conservancy
Sand Creek Massacre Foundation
Sandy Hook Foundation
Santa Fe Trail Association
Save the Dunes
Schoodic Institute
Shenandoah National Park Trust
Sleeping Bear Forever
Soul Trak Outdoors
The Alliance for Florida’s National Parks
The Fund for People in Parks
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
Traverse City Tourism
Trust for Public Land
Trust for the National Mall
Valley Forge Park Alliance
Voyageurs Conservancy
Washington’s National Park Fund
Western National Parks
Whiskeytown Environmental School Community
Wild Rivers Conservancy of the St. Croix &
Namekagon
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts
Wrangell Mountains Center
Yellowstone Forever
Yosemite Conservancy
Zion Forever Project