Great American Outdoors Act

  The Great American Outdoors Act was signed last week, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). This new law will permanently and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and provide funding to address the maintenance backlog in the national parks and other public lands. “Landscape architects helped design the first national parks and are involved in their maintenance to this day. Many landscape architects rely on funding from LWCF to finance important projects that otherwise would never get off the ground,” said Wendy Miller, FASLA, President ASLA. “In the midst of the current climate crisis, the role of landscape architects as responsible stewards of the land has never been more important. This law will go a long way toward helping us continue that work.” ASLA has long supported the measures included in the Great American Outdoors Act. During this Congress alone, 2,500 members of ASLA’s advocacy network sent over 6,200 messages in support of the law, reaching lawmakers in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. “For ASLA, marks the culmination of years of advocacy, by our team on Capitol Hill and by members all across the country,” added Miller. Speaking of the signing on August 4, she said, “It’s truly a day to celebrate.”