Ohioans know full well our parks and public lands are national treasures in need of a little polishing.

The list of repairs and deferred maintenance is only growing. And, though workers and administrators do their best, time and the elements do take their toll.

It makes sense, then, that U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, joined Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Steve Daines, R-Mont., in supporting the America the Beautiful Act to boost and reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund that could help address those challenges.

“This bill would address more than $40 billion in deferred maintenance across national parks and public lands, including repairs in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Wayne National Forest,” Husted said.

Good.

But the backlog stretches far beyond Ohio.

According to Husted’s office, the maintenance backlog looks something like this: $23.26 billion for the U.S. Park Service, $8.695 billion for the U.S. Forest Service, $2.65 billion for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, $5.72 billion for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and $804.5 million for the U.S. Bureau of Indian Education.

(Yes, that’s still what the bureau calls itself; and no, it’s not clear how that falls into a category with all the other agencies, other than still being part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.)

The America the Beautiful Act would start to chip away at all that by reauthorizing the Legacy Restoration Fund through 2033 and increasing funding to $2 billion per year.

“Our national parks and other public lands are an essential part of the fabric that makes our nation so great,” said Bill Stanley, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio.

“They are unique, and they contribute to the health and well-being of people in America, provide critical habitat for plants and animals, and are key drivers of our nation’s — and Ohio’s — outdoor recreation economy. The federal government led the development of this system, and the America the Beautiful Act continues the essential investment into the long-term health and productivity of these special places.”

If you’re looking at the numbers and thinking $2 billion per year is not nearly enough, lawmakers likely understand that.

But it’s better to start small than to not start at all when it comes to catching up on the care we should be giving our national parks and public lands.