The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region recently announced an investment of over $27.5 million in funding from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) to support 59 individual projects across the Rocky Mountain Region in Fiscal Year 2024. These investments are made possible by the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) established by the Great American Outdoors Act. 

These projects support the recent announcement by both the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior proposing a combined $2.8 billion in funding for Fiscal Year 2025 to improve infrastructure, recreation facilities, public lands access, and land and water conservation as the legislation enters its fourth out of fifth year.  

One of the projects listed as a small sample of the efforts that are currently underway in the Rocky Mountain Region includes a Bighorn Forest-wide Trailhead Improvements project.

This project entails trailhead access road repairs, installation and repair of toilet facilities, construction of parking areas, installation, and repairs of recreation and regulatory signing, and addressing site drainage and resource concerns at multiple, highly utilized trailhead sites across the Bighorn National Forest. 

“This investment allows us to provide greater access to public lands which are essential for recreation, economic development, and community well-being,” said Steve Lohr, acting regional forester. 

Between authorized and funded deferred maintenance projects for Fiscal Year 2024, the Rocky Mountain Region currently has 120 projects in various stages of development, with 39 completed.