Last night, a bipartisan group of senators introduced historic legislation combining two important bills: one supporting dedicated funding for deferred maintenance of the National Park Service and other federal agencies, and one supporting full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

We expect this bill to come to the Senate floor for a vote as early as this week, and we need you to contact your senators today and urge them to cosponsor and vote YES to pass this legislation.

After decades of underfunding, the National Park Service faces a deferred maintenance backlog estimated at nearly $12 billion, of which approximately 47 percent is attributed to historic assets. Without significant investments, iconic historic sites are at risk for permanent damage or loss. Similarly, the assets of other federal agencies addressed by the legislation require much-needed repairs.

With a name like the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), you might not realize how important this program is for protecting historic places. LWCF has helped expand historic parks and other public lands since its inception in 1965—from Massachusetts’ Minute Man National Historical Park to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Despite its success, less than half of the funding set aside for LWCF has been appropriated for its intended purposes. This legislation would fix that shortfall going forward.

If enacted, the Great American Outdoors Act would be the single largest federal investment in preservation of historic and cultural resources for public lands in our generation, and it would provide the support necessary to ensure America’s historic places are saved for generations to come.

Contact your senators today and ask them to cosponsor and vote YES to pass this important legislation.