National Park Service: FY2021 Appropriations

Updated October 12, 2021

National Park Service: FY2021 Appropriations

The National Park Service (NPS) administers the National

Park System, which includes 423 units valued for their

natural, cultural, and recreational importance. System lands

cover 81 million federal acres and 4 million nonfederal

acres. As part of the Department of the Interior (DOI), NPS

receives funding in annual appropriations laws for Interior,

Environment, and Related Agencies. This CRS product

discusses NPS’s FY2021 appropriations; for information on

FY2022, see CRS In Focus IF11928, National Park

Service: FY2022 Appropriations.

FY2021 Appropriations

P.L. 116-260, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,

was enacted on December 27, 2020. It contained $3.123

billion for NPS, 8% less than the enacted FY2020 regular

appropriation of $3.377 billion in P.L. 116-94. The act

included increases for some NPS accounts compared with

FY2020 (Table 1) but decreased or eliminated funding for

two accounts, both covering activities that received

mandatory appropriations in the Great American Outdoors

Act (GAOA; P.L. 116-152), enacted in August 2020.

resolutions provided funding at FY2020 levels before

enactment of P.L. 116-260.

NPS’s Appropriations Accounts

NPS had six budget accounts in FY2021, but one account—

Land Acquisition and State Assistance—did not receive

discretionary appropriations (Figure 1 and Table 1). About

86% of NPS’s FY2021 discretionary appropriations went to

the Operation of the National Park System (ONPS) account

to support day-to-day activities, programs, and services at

park units, including resource stewardship, visitor services,

park protection, facility operations and maintenance, and

administrative costs. The FY2021 appropriation for the

ONPS account was $2.688 billion; the Administration had

requested $2.517 billion.

Figure 1. NPS Appropriations Accounts, FY2021

FY2021 appropriations in P.L. 116-260 were 12% higher

than the Trump Administration’s request of $2.793 billion.

The enacted discretionary appropriation exceeded the

Administration’s request for all but one NPS account.

In addition to discretionary appropriations, NPS reported

mandatory appropriations for FY2021 of $1.033 billion, an

increase of 82% over NPS mandatory funding for FY2020.

The increase was largely due to changes enacted in the

GAOA, which designated as mandatory spending agency

funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund

(LWCF; 54 U.S.C. §200301), previously provided through

discretionary appropriations. Other NPS mandatory

appropriations come from entrance and recreation fees,

concessioner fees, donations, and other sources. NPS’s

mandatory total does not include NPS’s share from the

deferred maintenance fund established by the GAOA,

which is recorded as a separate allocation from a DOI

department-wide account.

In earlier action, on July 24, 2020, the House passed H.R.

7608, an FY2021 consolidated appropriations bill with

$3.224 billion for NPS (also see H.Rept. 116-448 on H.R.

7612, an earlier stand-alone House Interior bill). On

November 10, 2020, the Senate Committee on

Appropriations released a draft bill with $3.122 billion for

NPS. Because regular FY2021 appropriations were not

enacted by the start of the fiscal year, several continuing

Source: Joint explanatory statement, P.L. 116-260.

Notes: ONPS = Operation of the National Park System. NR&P =

National Recreation & Preservation. Figure does not show

rescissions.

The next-largest amount, 7% of the regular appropriation,

went to NPS’s Construction account, which covers

rehabilitation and replacement of existing facilities as well

as new construction. NPS prioritizes deferred maintenance

in project planning. Projects are evaluated based on

department-wide criteria related to the condition of assets

and their importance to the park’s purposes. The account

also covers other construction activities and planning. P.L.

116-260 appropriated $223.9 million for the NPS

Construction account for FY2021; the Administration’s

request was $192.6 million.

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National Park Service: FY2021 Appropriations

Table 1. NPS Discretionary Appropriations by Account ($ in millions)

Account

Operation of the Nat’l. Park System

FY2020 Enacted

(P.L. 116-94)

FY2021

Request

House-Passed

H.R. 7608

Senate Comm.

Draft

P.L. 116-260

% Change

FY2020-FY2021

2,577.0

2,516.7

2,776.6

2,648.6

2,688.3

+4%

Construction

389.3

192.6

223.9

249.0

223.9

-42%

Land Acquisition and State Assistance

206.1

8.6

-2.0a

-2.0a

-23.0a

-111%

Historic Preservation Fund

118.7

40.7

136.4

138.0

144.3

+22%

Nat’l. Recreation and Preservation

71.2

33.9

74.3

74.0

74.2

+4%

Centennial Challenge

15.0

0

15.0

15.0

15.0

—

3,377.3

2,792.6

3,224.3

3,122.3

3,122.7

-8%

Total

Sources: Joint explanatory statement for P.L. 116-260, data from House Committee on Appropriations, and NPS FY2021 budget request.

Totals may not sum precisely due to rounding.

a.

For the Land Acquisition and State Assistance account, the legislation provided no new funding and contained a rescission. In past years,

this account was supported by funding from the LWCF, which was made mandatory spending by the GAOA (see above).

About 5% of the FY2021 discretionary appropriations were

for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) account. The

HPF was established by the National Historic Preservation

Act (54 U.S.C. §300101 et seq.). The fund receives $150

million annually from offshore energy revenues, but monies

are available only as provided in appropriations acts. P.L.

116-260 provided $144.3 million for FY2021, primarily for

NPS formula grants to state and tribal historic preservation

offices to preserve cultural and historical assets and sites.

Portions of the total also were for competitive grant

programs, historically black colleges and universities, and

historic revitalization, as well as the Save America’s

Treasures program (which preserves nationally significant

sites, structures, and artifacts) and sites related to the U.S.

Semiquincentennial (the observance of the 250th

anniversary of the founding of the United States). The

Administration had requested $40.7 million overall for the

HPF account.

The National Recreation and Preservation (NR&P) account

received about 2% of the FY2021 total discretionary

appropriations. This account funds NPS programs that

assist state, local, tribal, and private land managers with

grants for outdoor recreation planning, natural and cultural

resource preservation, and other activities. The largest

single program funded through the account is NPS

assistance to national heritage areas. The FY2021

appropriation for the NR&P account was $74.2 million, of

which $23.9 million was for national heritage areas. The

Administration had requested $33.9 million for the account,

of which $0.4 million would have been for national heritage

areas.

Centennial Challenge Fund. Authorized by Congress in

2016 (54 U.S.C. §103501), the fund provides matching

grants to spur partner donations for projects or programs

that further the NPS mission and enhance the visitor

experience. Deferred maintenance projects are prioritized.

The FY2021 appropriation for the account was $15.0

million; the Administration had requested no discretionary

funding. The fund also receives offsetting collections from

the sale of senior passes under the Federal Lands

Recreational Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. §6801).

In past years, NPS’s Land Acquisition and State Assistance

(LASA) account consisted of discretionary appropriations

from the LWCF, the primary funding source for the federal

land management agencies to acquire lands. The account

covered NPS’s own acquisitions—typically nonfederal

“inholdings” inside the boundaries of national park units—

and NPS grants to states for outdoor recreation needs. In

August 2020, the GAOA made all funding from the LWCF

mandatory spending. The discretionary account received no

funding for FY2021 and had a $23.0 million rescission.

Prior to enactment of the GAOA, the Administration had

requested $8.6 million for the account.

For More Information

For more information, see CRS Report R42757, National

Park Service Appropriations: Ten-Year Trends; and CRS

Report R46519, Interior, Environment, and Related

Agencies: Overview of FY2021 Appropriations.

Laura B. Comay, Dep Asst Dir/Spec

Less than 1% of the FY2021 appropriation went to the

Centennial Challenge account, to support the National Park

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IF11661

National Park Service: FY2021 Appropriations

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