"Oil and gas industry groups are becoming more vocal in supporting bipartisan legislation that proposes using federal fossil fuel production royalties to chip away at the $12 billion maintenance backlog at national parks.

The Restore Our Parks Act (H.R.1225 and S.500) would earmark for national park maintenance up to $1.3 billion of unallocated federal revenues from oil, gas, coal, and renewable energy development on federal lands each year through fiscal year 2023. The House version of the bill would also earmark a fraction of that funding for maintenance projects at national wildlife refuges, Bureau of Land Management land and schools on Indian reservations.

Oil and gas groups say the legislation would show the value of producing fossil fuels on public land, even as several Democratic presidential candidates support blocking such leasing on federal lands to address climate change."

Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment July 12, 2019. [2]