America’s Great Outdoors
Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR-04)
From sea to shining sea, our nation’s landscapes boast wonders unmatched by anywhere else in the world. From the glaciers in Alaska to the mighty Sequoias in California and the abundant geothermal springs right here in Arkansas, we are incredibly blessed to call this land our home.
As the summer season kicks off, many will travel across the country to see our natural beauty on full display. The national park system draws over 300 million visitors annually. For many, this has been a time-honored tradition, with countless visitors checking off another destination from their national park bucket list.
To fully appreciate this land that has been set aside just for you and me, we must understand its origin. In 1832, Congress protected the thermal waters in Hot Springs, creating America’s first federal reservation of a natural resource and making Hot Springs the birthplace of “America’s Best Idea.”
50 years later, Yellowstone became our nation’s first national park. In a speech given for the laying of the cornerstone of the gateway to Yellowstone National Park, President Roosevelt expressed his thoughts on the role the American people should play for the longevity of our national parks. He said, “The only way that the people as a whole can secure to themselves and their children the enjoyment in perpetuity of what the Yellowstone Park has to give is by assuming the ownership in the name of the nation and by jealously safeguarding and preserving the scenery, the forests, and the wild creatures.”
On the cusp of our nation’s 250th celebration of independence, Congress is assuming that ownership by introducing the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) 250. This legislation focuses on enhancing access, improving visitor experience, and creating new outdoor recreation opportunities across the country. The legislation also makes historic investments in and modernizes our national parks, public lands, and revitalizes the economies of rural gateway communities that depend on public lands tourism.
Hot Springs has benefitted greatly from the Great American Outdoors Act that was signed into law in 2020. Most notably, through the Legacy Restoration Fund, Bathhouse Row received critical safety updates and the restoration of iconic historic features to open its doors once again to the Hot Springs community for commercial use.
Last week, as Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, I had the honor of holding a field hearing in the heart of Hot Springs to discuss the importance of this legacy bill. Hot Springs National Park served as the perfect backdrop for this hearing, demonstrating how GAOA 250 investments can spur new public-private partnerships, create jobs, and sustain billions of dollars in spending within rural and gateway communities.
Our patriotism is often associated with our thankfulness to our armed forces and the military heroes who have sacrificed to protect our freedom. But I’d wager that a lot of our national pride also stems from the incredible beauty of our land. It’s a great privilege to work in Congress to ensure that “America’s Best Idea” – our national parks and public lands – are modernized and maintained for generations to come.
Published on July 4, 1895, by Katharine Lee Bates, “America the Beautiful” was the result of a recent trip to Pikes Peak in Colorado. Struck by its beauty, Bates penned the famous words that still resonate with us today and serve as a reminder of the gift we have been given and should continue to conserve. “O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!”