National Park Service: FY2022 Appropriations

Updated May 19, 2022

National Park Service: FY2022 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 FY2022 appropriations; for information on

FY2023, see CRS In Focus IF12112, National Park

Service: FY2023 Appropriations.

FY2022 Appropriations

P.L. 117-103, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022,

was enacted on March 15, 2022. It contained $3.265 billion

for NPS, 5% more than the enacted FY2021 regular

appropriation of $3.123 billion in P.L. 116-260. (The

FY2022 total does not include $229.5 million provided in

P.L. 117-43 as supplemental funding in response to natural

disasters, which is designated as emergency spending

outside of discretionary spending limits.) The regular

appropriations in P.L. 117-103 included increases for four

of the five NPS accounts compared with FY2021 and one

account where funding was level with FY2021 (Table 1).

had released a majority draft bill, later introduced as S.

3034, with $3.463 billion for NPS. Because FY2022

appropriations were not enacted by the start of the fiscal

year, a series of continuing resolutions provided funding at

FY2021 levels before enactment of P.L. 117-103.

NPS’s Appropriations Accounts

NPS had five discretionary budget accounts in FY2022

(Figure 1), not counting the land acquisition account, for

which funding is now provided by mandatory

appropriations. About 85% of NPS’s FY2022 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. These include resource

stewardship, visitor services, park protection, facility

operations and maintenance, and administrative costs. The

FY2022 appropriation for the ONPS account was $2.767

billion; the Administration had requested $2.977 billion.

Figure 1. NPS Appropriations Accounts

(percentages reflect FY2022 appropriations)

FY2022 appropriations in P.L. 117-103 were 7% lower than

the Biden Administration’s request of $3.497 billion. The

enacted discretionary appropriation exceeded the

Administration’s request in two accounts, matched the

request for one account, and was lower than the request for

two accounts (Table 1).

In addition to discretionary appropriations, NPS estimated

mandatory appropriations for FY2022 at $1.093 billion, a

decline of 1% from NPS mandatory funding for FY2021.

These mandatory appropriations come from entrance and

recreation fees, concessioner fees, donations, and other

sources and also include land acquisition funding under the

Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF; 54 U.S.C.

§200301). Through FY2020, the LWCF funding had been

provided through discretionary appropriations, but it was

made mandatory in the Great American Outdoors Act

(GAOA; P.L. 116-152). NPS’s FY2022 mandatory total

does not include $1.330 billion for NPS from the National

Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), the

deferred maintenance fund established by the GAOA.

In earlier action, on July 29, 2021, the House had passed

H.R. 4502, an FY2022 consolidated appropriations bill with

$3.470 billion for NPS (also see H.Rept. 117-83 on H.R.

4372, an earlier stand-alone House bill). On October 18,

2021, the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee

Source: Joint explanatory statement for P.L. 117-103.

Notes: ONPS = Operation of the National Park System’

NR&P = National Recreation and Preservation. FY2022 data do not

reflect supplemental (emergency-designated) appropriations in P.L.

117-43 to address natural disasters.

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

went to NPS’s Construction account, which covers repair,

replacement, and improvement of existing facilities as well

as new construction. Projects are evaluated based on criteria

related to the condition of assets, their importance to park

purposes, and project benefits and risks. The account also

covers other construction activities and planning. P.L. 117103 appropriated $226.0 million for the NPS Construction

account for FY2022; the Administration’s request was

$278.6 million.

https://crsreports.congress.gov

National Park Service: FY2022 Appropriations

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

Accounta

Operation of the Nat’l. Park System

FY2021 Enacted

(P.L. 116-260)

2,688.3

FY2022 House-Passed

Request

H.R. 4502

2,977.3

2,965.8

Senate

S. 3034

FY2022 Enacted % Change from

(P.L. 117-103)

FY2021

2,930.1

2,767.0

+3%

+1%

Construction

223.9

278.6

252.6

253.1

226.0b

Historic Preservation Fund

144.3

151.8

155.8

180.1

173.1

+20%

Nat’l. Recreation and Preservation

74.2

74.5

80.4

85.2

83.9

+13%

Centennial Challenge

15.0

15.0

15.0

15.0

15.0

—

3,122.7a

3,497.2

3,469.6

3,463.4

3,265.0

+5%

Total

Sources: Data from House and Senate Committees on Appropriations; joint explanatory statement for P.L. 117-103. Totals may not sum

precisely due to rounding.

a.

Table does not show NPS’s Land Acquisition and State Assistance (LASA) account, for which funding was made mandatory by the GAOA

(see above). No discretionary funds went to the LASA account in FY2021 or FY2022. For FY2021 (P.L. 116-260), Congress rescinded

$23.0 million from the LASA account, which is reflected in the total shown here.

b.

This amount does not include supplemental funding provided in P.L. 117-43 to address natural disasters, which is designated as emergency

spending outside of discretionary spending limits.

About 5% of the FY2022 discretionary appropriations were

for the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) account. The

HPF, established by the National Historic Preservation Act

(54 U.S.C. §300101 et seq.), receives $150 million annually

from offshore energy revenues, but monies are available

only as provided in appropriations acts. P.L. 117-103

provided $173.1 million for FY2022, 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 250th anniversary of the founding

of the United States). The Administration had requested

$151.8 million overall for the HPF account.

The National Recreation and Preservation (NR&P) account

received about 3% of the FY2022 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

individual program funded through the account is NPS

assistance to national heritage areas. The FY2022

appropriation for the NR&P account was $83.9 million, of

which $27.1 million was for national heritage areas. The

Administration had requested $74.5 million for the account,

of which $22.2 million was for national heritage areas.

Less than 1% of the FY2022 discretionary appropriation

went to the Centennial Challenge account, to support the

National Park Centennial Challenge Fund. Authorized 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 FY2022 appropriation for the account was $15.0

million, the same as requested by the Administration. The

fund also receives offsetting collections from the sale of

senior passes under the Federal Lands Recreational

Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. §§6801-6814).

Through FY2020, 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. Allocation of the funding

remains an issue in the appropriations process, as the

GAOA requires that the President’s annual budget

submission include account, program, and project

allocations for the LWCF funds, and appropriations acts

may specify alternate allocations. For FY2022, in addition

to allocating monies for projects proposed by the

Administration in the NPS budget request, appropriators

designated five NPS land acquisition projects as community

project funding/congressionally directed spending.

Funding for the LRF, the deferred maintenance fund

established by the GAOA, also is designated as mandatory

spending, allocated from a DOI department-wide account.

The LRF receives annual deposits over five years based on

amounts of federal energy revenues. The fund has a cap of

$1.900 billion annually, with 70% allocated to NPS. For

FY2022, the maximum revenues were available, so NPS

received $1.330 billion. As in the case of the LWCF, the

Administration must submit to Congress, with the annual

budget request, lists of priority DM projects to be addressed

with LRF funding. Appropriators may specify alternate

allocations for the funds. For FY2022, the funds were

allocated as proposed in the NPS budget submission.

For More Information

For more information, see CRS Report R42757, National

Park Service Appropriations: Ten-Year Trends; and CRS

Report R46908, Interior, Environment, and Related

Agencies: Overview of FY2022 Appropriations.

Laura B. Comay, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy

https://crsreports.congress.gov

IF11928

National Park Service: FY2022 Appropriations

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