By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
President Trump signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), H.R. 1957, which is critically important to revitalizing America’s outdoor recreation infrastructure. The GAOA provides $9.5 billion over the next five years to address the maintenance backlog on federally owned lands by creating a national parks and public land legacy restoration fund. The law also appropriates $900 million annually to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which funds projects that protect natural areas, water resources, cultural heritage sites and to provide recreation opportunities. The SEMA-supported law will help address the infrastructure needs facing our public lands and waters, such as improving trails, roads, docks, campgrounds and more.
The GAOA will benefit many SEMA members in the off-road market (four-wheel, ATVs and UTVs) in addition to companies producing and selling wheels/tires, suspension, power and other equipment to help tow RVs and boats to the nation’s parks and recreation areas. SEMA and 30 other national associations that comprise the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) advocated for Congress to pass the GAOA and commend members of Congress and President Trump for working together to protect the future of outdoor recreation. The new law addresses infrastructure needs of our public lands, creates jobs and will provide Americans with access to open spaces.
For more information, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.