WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – Residents from Whatcom County and around the country will have extra incentive to enjoy the outdoors on Friday, August 4th.

The U.S. Department of the Interior is waiving entrance fees on public lands they manage to commemorate the three-year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act.

The legislation is what the department calls “the single largest investment in public lands in U.S. history.”

Funds from the act have improved the infrastructure, safety and accessibility of recreation areas all across the country.

Those projects have generated an annual average of $1.8 billion for local economies, according to the department.