WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Derek Kilmer has received the 2019 National Park Heritage Award from the National Parks Conservation Association.

The award presented Wednesday recognizes Kilmer’s sponsorship of a bill to establish a National Maritime Heritage Area in Washington which was included in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act.

The act was a bipartisan public lands package that consisted of more than 100 public lands, natural resources and water bills.

“I was lucky to grow up with Olympic National Park in my backyard,” said Kilmer, a democrat from Gig Harbor. “I’ve seen firsthand how our public lands have captivated both visitors and residents alike and served as key economic drivers for our local communities.

“This legislation delivered on our region’s long-standing priorities to protect our environment and support continued access to our public lands for generations to come,” he added.

Kilmer represents the 6th Congressional District, which includes the North Olympic Peninsula.

The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to ensure that the program can continue supporting conservation and recreation in communities across the country.

Since its creation, LWCF has supported more than 600 projects for parks, trails and other outdoor spaces in Washington, including such sites as Olympic National Park, Lake Chelan, Gas Works Park and Riverside State Park.

In that time, the LWCF has invested $675 million in Washington’s economy.

The legislation included a bill led by Kilmer and Rep. Denny Heck, a fellow Democrat who represents the 10th Congressional District, to establish a National Maritime Heritage Area in Washington state.

The Kilmer-Heck Maritime Washington National Heritage Area Act — which was championed in the Senate by Senators Maria Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace, and Patty Murray, D-Seattle — designates a majority of Western Washington’s shoreline as a National Heritage Area to help promote maritime-related tourism, economic development and maritime history.

Kilmer also is the lead Democrat sponsor of the bipartisan Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act, which would take existing government revenue and allocate it to the National Park Service to address a $12 billion maintenance backlog.

The backlog has delayed the upkeep of visitor centers, rest stops, trails, campgrounds and transportation infrastructure in national parks.