Federal funds for Great Smoky Mountains National Park invest in repairs and local economy
On the 107th anniversary of when the National Park Service was established, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park to explain exactly how federal funding is supporting maintenance and preservation of the nation’s most-visited national park.
“I travel to parks all over the country. I think there may not be a park in the country that is a better place to talk about investing in our public lands than this park,” Estenoz said on Aug. 25 along the Foothills Parkway in Townsend. The parkway was repaved this summer thanks to the Great American Outdoors Act.
“This park is within an eight-hour drive for half of the U.S. population, (and) it makes it very easy to explain the return on investment in a place like this,” she continued.
Estenoz’s Great Smoky Mountains stop is part of a month-long tour across the country by Department of the Interior leaders to highlight projects and investments funded by GAOA’s National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund.
The bipartisan investment is intended to improve visitor experiences, support climate resilience and bolster local economies. Funding specifically addresses maintenance and repairs that have been deferred, creating a backlog on public lands.
“We are so grateful to have received support through the Great American Outdoors Act,” Superintendent Cassius Cash said.
How Great Smoky National Park is using Great American Outdoors Act funds
The scenic 17-mile Foothills Parkway, which has around 700,000 visitors a year, was rehabilitated early this year using $31 million in funding from GAOA’s Legacy Restoration Fund. The project supported 400 jobs and is helping contribute $85.5 million to the nation’s economy, according to Estenoz.
Nearly $19 million from the Legacy Restoration Fund will reconstruct Lakeview Drive and repair Heintooga Ridge Road in North Carolina to help improve access to Great Smoky Mountains park locations from North Carolina. That project is expected to be completed later this year.
More projects are planned as well, some of which might not be as visible to visitors.
“For instance, this park has 26 wastewater systems underground that you don't see. And I guarantee you, when they don't work, people know,” Cash said.
“So, in addition to road projects, we have wastewater programs that we're looking at (and) we're looking at trying to redo our maintenance center, right near our headquarters,” he added.
Investing in solving small problems before they become major problems, such as drought and invasive species in national parks that can lead to intense wildfires, is the program's goal, Estenoz noted.
Investing in and supporting national parks
Great Smoky National Park is the most visited national park in the country, seeing 12.9 million visitors last year who also spent $2.1 billion in communities near the park, according to a National Park Service report released earlier this month.
That spending supported 32,590 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $3.3 billion, the report noted.
Estenoz, who lived in Knoxville as child, said she was impressed and overwhelmed by the economic and visitation growth in the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg areas, which are due, in part, to the popularity of the Smokies.
“You can see the connection that those communities feel to this place,” she said. “Americans love their parks and so that's why they're investing in them.”
What is the Great American Outdoors Act?
The Great American Outdoors Act, which former Tennessee governor and U.S. senator Lamar Alexander worked on, was enacted in 2020. Authorizing up to $1.9 billion annually for five years for deferred maintenance and repairs on public lands, it is the single largest investment in public lands in United States history, according to the Department of the Interior.
However, funding for the Legacy Restoration Fund is set to end following the 2025 fiscal year. It would have to be reauthorized by Congress to continue.
Estenoz and Department of the Interior leaders are touring national parks across the country not only to let people know how the program's funds are being used, but to make sure superintendents like Cash and their teams have the necessary information and tools needed to continue maintenance and preservation projects.
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. Twitter @dturner1208.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Great American Outdoors Act aids Great Smoky Mountains National Park
