Pending federal legislation could address a massive maintenance backlog at national parks, including repairs at the famous Jordan Pond House at Acadia National Park.

“When it rains or snows outside, it rains or snows inside,” Eric Stiles, president and CEO of the nonprofit Friends of Acadia, said about the landmark building. “It needs major rehab or, if not, a replacement.”

In 2020, the federal government established the Legacy Restoration Fund, which provided $1.6 billion annually for five years for repairs at national parks, the first major investment in decades to go toward deferred maintenance. Through that program, Acadia got more than $50 million to build a maintenance facility and to rehabilitate aging wastewater systems.

That fund has now lapsed. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are both working on bills that would extend it, and all four members of Maine’s delegation are supporting those efforts.

“Until they reauthorize it, no new projects will be able to get up and running,” said Paul Coussan, vice president of government relations at the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service.

Todd Martin, the Northeast senior program manager at the National Parks Conservation Association, an independent organization that advocates for the parks, said another round of funding could help with the estimated $138 million in repairs needed at Acadia, as well as projects at other federal lands in Maine, such as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

“We’re hearing that the president is very interested in signing this bill before the July 4 holiday,” Martin said.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Wednesday unanimously advanced a bill, called the America the Beautiful Act, which would invest $1.9 billion annually for five years. Sen. Angus King was one of the bill’s original sponsors last year, and Sen. Susan Collins soon joined as a cosponsor.

“We are doing a bill on deferred maintenance because we haven’t adequately done maintenance which should have been done every year as part of the base budget of the Interior Department of the National Park Service,” King said during the committee hearing Wednesday. “So this is a major accomplishment, but I think we should also work with the current administration, the next administration to be sure that we don’t have to do this every five years. Not doing maintenance is a kind of debt.”

Lawmakers in the House this month introduced a similar bill, called the Great American Outdoors Act 250, which would invest $1.9 billion annually in each of the next five years. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden are both among the original cosponsors.

“The Legacy Restoration Fund helped address a backlog of essential maintenance needs at Acadia, but the work isn’t done,” Golden said Thursday in a written statement. “That’s why I support extending the fund so our National Parks can ensure continued, safe access for future generations.”

More than 4 million people visited Acadia in 2025, a new record.

In a written statement, Pingree said parks and public lands have been underfunded for decades and that NPS has lost nearly a quarter of its staff since January 2025. Restoring the Legacy Restoration Fund, Pingree said, “is hugely important, but we also need to dramatically increase funding for the NPS.”

Acadia National Park does not currently have a dedicated spokesperson. No one responded to emails to a general inbox for media inquiries or a voicemail for the superintendent’s office.

If Congress extends the Legacy Restoration Fund, Stiles said, a major priority would be the rehab at the Jordan Pond House, a scenic stopover known for tea and popovers. The building is owned by the park service, but the restaurant is operated by a private concessionaire. The staff there did not return voicemails or an email. In 2022, a park official said the project might cost as much as $20 million.

“So many people, that’s on their must-see list,” Stiles said. “But that facility is really in need of replacement.”

Friends of Acadia said the new maintenance facility is expected to open this year. The current one was designed for an era in which the park saw fewer than 1 million visitors each year, Stiles said. The nonprofit said it has a major crack in the masonry, crumbling cinderblocks and inadequate bathrooms for employees.

“It’s grossly inadequate,” Stiles said.

That project got $42.2 million from the first round of funding, according to the Department of the Interior, and the Schoodic Point water and wastewater project got $8.6 million.

“You’re not going to get donors excited about replacing maintenance buildings and sewer and septic lines,” Stiles said. “Even if I could, our role as philanthropic partners is to add to what Congress provides. It’s not to replace.”

He added: “If you don’t have those federal funds, it’s not going to inspire the private side donations, and the park — its resources, its treasures, its visitors — will suffer.”