Ranking Member Grijalva, Rep. Meehan Offer Bill to Permanently Establish Land & Water Conservation Fund, Prevent 2018 Expiration

Press Release

Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.) today introduced bipartisan legislation to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act. In the more than 50 years since it was first passed with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats, the LWCF has come to be recognized as America's most important conservation program.

The bill introduced today, available at http://bit.ly/2ijWPQO, is identical to H.R. 1814 from the 114th Congress. That bill -- which had 211 cosponsors in the last Congress, including 27 Republicans -- was intended to reauthorize LWCF before it expired in the fall of 2015. Unfortunately, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) refused to hold a hearing on the bill or advance it through Committee, causing the program to temporarily expire and divert more than $190 million in offshore oil and gas royalty revenue away from conservation.

The FY 2016 omnibus appropriations bill bypassed Bishop and reauthorized LWCF for an additional three years, but the Fund will expire again on October 1, 2018, if Congress does not take further action. The cosponsors of the new bill are sending a letter later today asking Chairman Bishop for an immediate legislative hearing.

LWCF is the only federal program dedicated to the continued conservation of our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness, Civil War battlefields, state and local parks, working forests and critical wildlife areas. The bill ensures that public lands remain truly accessible to the American people for outdoor recreation by setting aside at least 1.5 percent (a minimum of $10 million) of LWCF funds to increase access to existing federal public lands for hunting, fishing and other recreational purposes.

"The brinksmanship over LWCF in the last Congress was a disservice to the American people, who overwhelmingly support the program," Rep. Grijalva said. "By moving quickly to pass this bill, we can avoid a similar situation this time around and show that Congress can, in fact, get something done. Voters across the political spectrum understand the value of LWCF in their communities. There is no room for ideology here."

"The Land and Water Conservation Fund is the most successful natural preservation program in U.S. history and it's long past time to make it permanent," Rep. Meehan said. "Congressional inaction will put the program at risk and threaten preservation projects across the country, including many in Pennsylvania. This bipartisan bill protects the LWCF and ensures it continues to preserve our natural and cultural sites for future generations of Americans enjoy."

"The LWCF Coalition is extremely grateful to Representatives Grijalva and Meehan for their commitment to a lasting American conservation vision through the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund," said Alan Rowsome, Senior Director of Government Relations for Lands at the Wilderness Society and Co-Chair of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition. "For more than the last half century LWCF has conserved iconic landscapes in every state, ensured the protection of our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness, monuments, and Civil War battlefields, and supported community investments in parks and outdoor recreation activities. This legislation will make LWCF a permanent part of America's commitment to conservation and ensure that future generations continue to enjoy the outdoors."

"The Land and Water Conservation Fund has provided money for conservation easements in the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area. Land conservation and maintaining ranchlands is a cost-effective way to maintain and increase water storage north of Lake Okeechobee, while reducing floods and water releases into the rivers and coastal estuaries," said Lefty Durando, of Durando Family Ranches in Wauchula, Florida. "LWCF makes it possible to conserve these lands in the Everglades, protect the state's water supply and quality, facilitate wildlife conservation, and maintain agriculture that is an important part of our economy."

"I work as a fishing guide in the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness of western Colorado, where LWCF funds created unimpeded access to prime fishing waters and conserved wildlife habitat by acquiring a key in-holding in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area," said Adam Gall, owner of Timber to Table Guide Service and a board member of the Colorado chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. "This is just one example of the dozens of state and federal programs the LWCF has helped in Colorado, not to mention in the other forty-nine states. That Congress may resurrect the LWCF comes as fantastic news for public lands, the wildlife living there and the public as a whole."

About the Land and Water Conservation Fund

The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, signed into law on September 3, 1964, established a dedicated means for the conservation and protection of America's irreplaceable natural, historic, cultural and outdoor landmarks. LWCF is the only federal program dedicated to the continued conservation of our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness, civil war battlefields, as well as state and local parks, working forests and critical wildlife areas. It is rightly characterized as America's most important conservation program.

LWCF does not use any taxpayer dollars -- it is funded using a small portion of the profits from offshore oil and gas development. Outdoor recreation, conservation and historic preservation activities support 9.4 million jobs and contribute more than $1 trillion annually to the U.S. economy.

About the LWCF Coalition

The LWCF Coalition is the umbrella group of more than 1,000 state and local land owners, small businesses, ranchers, sportsmen, veterans, outdoor recreationists and conservation organizations working to protect America's public lands and safeguard our shared outdoor heritage for future generations.

The Coalition is united in its advocacy for the reauthorization and full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which will ensure the continued conservation of our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness, civil war battlefields, as well as state and local parks.

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