Three out of 4 Americans say the federal government should tackle the ballooning backlog of maintenance projects on public land, according to new polling data released Wednesday.
In a survey of more than 4,000 U.S. adults, 74 percent supported directing federal dollars to a public lands backlog of maintenance and repairs — work that includes projects like road and bridge improvements and water treatments system upgrades — according to a YouGov poll commissioned by the Trust for Public Land, a conservation group.
Six percent of those polled opposed public funding for the delayed repairs, which according to the Interior Department have climbed to more than $35 billion. Of that total, roughly $24 billion is tied to maintenance needs at the National Park Service alone.
The poll included a description of a federal program created to address “overdue repair needs” such as visitors centers, roads and campgrounds in national parks, forests and wildlife refuges. It noted that many of these features are in states of disrepair and some are “at risk of permanent loss.” It then asked whether the person supported “robust funding” to address these maintenance issues.
