FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2018
DENVER—In response to Congress’s failure to take action to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, America’s most important conservation and recreation fund, the Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Media Director Aaron Weiss:
“In a period of partisanship and gridlock, members of Congress have reached across the aisle in support of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. But leaders have failed to take necessary action to permanently reauthorize and fund America’s most important parks conservation program. LWCF has been critical for establishing and protecting recreation access to public lands for more than 50 years. It’s time, once and for all, for Congress to stop talking and act on LWCF.”
A recent report by the Center for Western Priorities found that in just four years, from 2014 to 2017, LWCF permanently conserved at least 491,000 acres in 42 states. At least 223 proposed U.S. public land and Forest Legacy LWCF projects in 45 states are now on the line as a result of the program’s expiration. If those projects cannot move forward, a minimum of 318,000 acres could go unprotected—including private inholdings inside America’s national parks, along with critical wildlife habitat and sustainable, working forests.
In a rare display of bipartisanship earlier this month, the House Committee on Natural Resources advanced legislation to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee plans to hold a markup of the conservation program next week—two days after it expires on September 30.
Secretary Zinke’s proposed fiscal 2019 budget for the Interior Department included a 95 percent cut for appropriations for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.