Park Bench Chat: The Great American Outdoors Act -Vital to recovery and our future

We’re at a turning point for parks and open space in America. Parks have emerged as essential to healthy, resilient communities during the pandemic, but the crisis has also laid bare the dire inequalities in outdoor access across the nation. Right now, we’re on the brink of a defining legislative victory: securing full and dedicated funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This has been a generation in the making and could transform the outlook for outdoor equality across the country.

On Thursday, May 14, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), coauthor of the Great American Outdoors Act, joined Lise Aangeenbrug, Executive Director of the Outdoor Industry Association, and Trust for Public Land National Board Member Lucas St. Clair for a Park Bench Chat on the Great American Outdoors Act.

We discussed the urgency of this moment, how to advocate for parks and public lands in your community, and what to watch for in the weeks to come as the nation weathers the pandemic and begins to invest in recovery.