The Great American Outdoors Act, which was enacted in 2020 and authorized $1.6 billion annually to the Department of the Interior to address priority deferred maintenance and repair needs at public lands, is helping restoration efforts at three south Idaho national parks.
Minidoka National Historic Site, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, and Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument are receiving support from GAOA’s Legacy Restoration Fund. According to the National Park Service, the funds will be allocated to four major projects.
At Minidoka, a multi-year restoration will preserve the historic Block 22 Barracks, Mess Hall, and Root Cellar buildings, allowing visitors to step inside history and better understand the lived experiences of Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Minidoka Relocation Center during World War II.
A new maintenance facility will also be constructed at Minidoka to house a carpentry shop, equipment repair bays, offices, and park staff workspaces. This will help streamline operations and ensure employees have the tools they need to maintain facilities and better serve visitors and partners.
At Craters of the Moon, a historic Mission 66 utility building will undergo adaptive rehabilitation, restoring a key feature to the park’s Historic District while improving park operations.
Finally, a new fire suppression system will be installed in the Paleontology Laboratory Building at Hagerman, an investment that will improve staff safety and protect the priceless paleontological resources housed in the building.
“These projects will significantly enhance the visitor experience, not only through visible improvements like expanded programming, education, and interpretation, but also by investing in critical behind-the-scenes work that keeps park facilities safe and functional,” said Wade Vagias, superintendent of the south Idaho parks. “We are deeply grateful that these high-priority infrastructure projects were selected for Great American Outdoors Act funding, as they might otherwise have remained out-of-reach.”
A skilled team from the NPS Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) will perform the restoration work on the Block 22 Barracks, Mess Hall, and Root Cellar at the Minidoka National Historic Site. Through GAOA, HPTC has formed multiple geographically based teams to complete historic restoration and preservation projects across the country.
The project will restore the buildings to historically accurate conditions and enable greater visitor access. Currently, due to health and safety hazards, visitors can only view the exterior of these buildings unless they are participating in a park ranger-led tour.
In its first five years, GAOA LRF has funded 396 priority deferred maintenance projects across 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 5 U.S. territories, according to an executive summary released by the DOI. These projects are expected to address nearly $6 billion in DM&R upon completion. Supporters of the law hope that Congress will reauthorize the LRF, which expired on Tuesday, in order to continue addressing dated infrastructure on public lands.
Editor’s Note: The restoration funds were approved before the government shutdown, and while some of the work is planned to begin this fall, it’s unknown whether the shutdown will affect the timeline.
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