Permanent reauthorization is major step, but funding remains in doubt
This afternoon, the Senate voted 92-8 to permanently reauthorize one of America’s most critical conservation programs, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, as part of a larger public lands bill. The bill does not include full, dedicated funding for the program. The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Deputy Director Aaron Weiss:
“Today’s vote is an important win for our national parks and public lands. LWCF has a 50-year history as America’s most successful parks program, and it deserves permanent reauthorization. We hope the House quickly follows in the Senate’s footsteps to send the public lands bill to the President’s desk.
“At the same time, it’s imperative that members of Congress reach across the aisle to devote full, dedicated funding to safeguard America’s conservation and recreation future. Year after year, Congress has shortchanged LWCF, appropriating less than half of what is collected for recreation and conservation projects across the country. With permanent reauthorization and full, dedicated funding, America’s parks will have the certainty they deserve.”
America’s public lands and urban parks have relied on critical funding from LWCF since 1964‚ all at no cost to taxpayers. The program uses a small amount of revenue from offshore oil and gas royalties to protect national parks, increase access to public lands, and build local parks. The Land and Water Conservation Fund has been expired for more than four months, during which no new royalty payments flowed into the fund, costing America’s parks, public lands, and cities more than $300 million.
Learn More
- Report: From 2014 to 2017, LWCF permanently conserved at least 491,000 acres in 42 states [Center for Western Priorities]
- In a rare display of bipartisanship, the House Committee on Natural Resources advanced legislation to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund [Salt Lake Tribune, 2018]