Update: You did it! The bill passed through the House, and will now go to the President’s desk for approval, with the support of Congress. President Trump indicated earlier this spring he was supportive of the bill.
Update: The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on this important legislation on Wednesday, July 22. Please contact your Representative to ask them to vote YES without amendments on this bill!
Almost 60 years ago, Congress and President Kennedy had a great idea. Let's, they said, in a fabulous moment of collective wisdom, create a big, stable, and permanent source of conservation funding for the entire nation. It will help fund everything from the acquisition of a national park to the development of a county park. It will be available to every part of the country.
They so created the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), funded by fees paid by the oil industry for offshore drilling. We need your help to support it. The Great American Outdoors Act would direct the full funding amount to LWCF annually. Your legislators need to hear from you. Call them. Email them. Share about it with your friends via email and social media. Use the hashtag #FundLWCF. More resources are listed below.
Joe Penfold, originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, was a leader in initiating the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Learn more about the impact of this work in this short clip by Montana Audubon
One problem bedeviled the program within its first few years and continued throughout its history. Congress could not keep its hands off the drilling money and continually diverted some of what was intended for LWCF to other programs. Still the program did a lot of good.
Congress re-authorized LWCF last year and this year is to decide on the funding. A bill has passed the Senate with a bi-partisan, 3-1 margin to direct all the oil money to LWCF. With just a modest rounding up, that's about $1 billion a year for conservation and outdoor recreation.
The House will take up the bill in the near future, as early as the week of July 20. Please take a moment to contact your representative in the House TODAY and ask that he or she support this legislation. Links at the end of the message will provide more information on the bill and the program. Often in such a plea, you are provided with sample comments or a letter. I'm not going to do that because letters, e-mails, or phone calls are much more effective if the persons sending the message base it on their thoughts or experiences and in their own language. However, I have included a link to Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ resource page, in case that is the only way you feel comfortable submitting your support. Every bit helps!
The Great American Outdoors Act helps great Americans enjoy the outdoors. Make your voice heard. Photo by Madison Audubon
In light of the strong Senate vote, the House should support this measure. Another strong, bi-partisan vote will help convince the President to keep his promise to sign it into law.
In Wisconsin alone, LWCF has funded hundreds of municipal, county, and state projects, land purchases, restorations, and park development. National, state, and local parks, forests, and natural areas need to have funding to stay open and stay ecologically functional. Thank you for taking the time to help our current and future public lands at a time that we need them and they need the help.
Written by Topf Wells, Madison Audubon board members and advocacy committee chair
RESOURCES
About the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the #FundLWCF campaign: www.lwcfcoalition.com
Backcountry Hunters’ & Anglers’ page to find contact info and call your representative (they offer a prompt for generally what to say): https://www.backcountryhunters.org/take_action?utm_campaign=gaoa_doa_july20
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ page to email your representative, which includes some template language and space for you to add your own personal comments: https://www.backcountryhunters.org/take_action?utm_campaign=gaoa_doa_july20
