For 50 years, until Congress let it expire on September 30th, the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has allowed for the\u00a0purchase of critical lands for conservation and the development of parks, trails, and other outdoor recreation facilities in all 50 states and nearly every county in America.<\/p>\n
While bipartisan efforts are underway in the House and Senate to simply reauthorize this extremely successful conservation program\u2014Representative\u00a0Rob Bishop, R-Utah,\u00a0Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, is on a mission to\u00a0“reform”\u00a0the Land and Water Conservation Fund\u00a0by radically changing its purpose and the projects and programs it would fund.<\/p>\n Created to invest\u00a0a portion of the\u00a0revenue from offshore\u00a0drilling leases towards\u00a0protecting\u00a0parks,\u00a0forests, wildlife refuges,\u00a0public lands, and other community spaces\u2014 the $900 million LWCF has been a crucial tool for helping to\u00a0close\u00a0gaps\u00a0and preserve critical historic and scenic places within our National Trails System.\u00a0In 2015 alone, over $25\u00a0million LWCF dollars were appropriated\u00a0by Congress to buy land along 11 of our National Scenic and Historic Trails. (Right: National Park Service map of the 30 National Scenic and Historic Trails)<\/em><\/p>\n Bishop let the widely supported LWCF\u00a0expire in September of 2015\u00a0and has steadfastly refused to allow a vote in his committee on H.R. 1814<\/a>, a bipartisan bill with nearly 200 co-sponsors to reauthorize the program. His reasoning? He claimed the LWCF needed reform. Amongst the reforms<\/a> he suggests include:<\/p>\n What Does This Proposal Mean for the Future of our Public Lands?<\/strong><\/p>\n The National Park Service will only barely be able to protect\u00a0our National Parks (NP)\u00a0by buying land from private landowners within their boundaries.\u00a0 Imagine visiting Yosemite NP or Canyonlands NP and finding luxury homes\u00a0within these otherwise wild parks. The same threat looms for our National Trails System. If we don\u2019t act to protect these lands through\u00a0our\u00a0support of the\u00a0traditional\u00a0LWCF, the views from our trails may become transmission lines, commercial development, and fossil fuel pipelines. The continuity of the trails themselves will be disrupted.<\/p>\n Furthermore, Partnership for the National Trails System Executive Director Gary Werner states, \u201cChairman Bishop’s proposal, if adopted, would make it impossible for us to complete the 30 congressionally authorized National Scenic and Historic Trails.\u201d<\/p>\n Share Your Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n In order to ensure the future of the LWCF in its intended form, it is up to us to make our voices heard. We urge you\u00a0to contact\u00a0your congressional representatives and senators today and tell them how important the LWCF is to preserving critical historic sites,\u00a0natural resources,\u00a0outdoor recreation sites,\u00a0and closing gaps\u00a0in our National\u00a0Trails\u00a0System.\u00a0\u00a0Ask your representatives to demand an opportunity to vote on H.R. 1814<\/strong> and your senators to insist on including reauthorization of LWCF in the Omnibus 2016 Appropriations Bill to fund all federal agencies after December 11th<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In the words of Ansel Adams, “Let us leave a splendid legacy for our children. Let us turn to them and say: ‘This you inherit; guard it well, for it is far more precious than money, and once destroyed, nature’s beauty cannot be repurchased at any price.”<\/p>\n House Natural Resource Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n Republican<\/strong><\/p>\n 1.\u00a0Rob Bishop<\/a>, UT, Chairman Democrat 1.\u00a0Ra\u00fal M. Grijalva<\/a>, AZ You can also show your support by using the hashtags #LWCF and #Outdoors4All A Battle to Save the LWCF\u00a0\u00a0 For 50 years, until Congress let it expire on September 30th, the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has allowed for the\u00a0purchase of critical lands for conservation and the development of parks, trails, and other outdoor recreation facilities… <\/p>\n![\"img-mail\"](\"http:\/\/pnts.org\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/National-Trails-map1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n2.\u00a0Don Young<\/a>, AK
\n3.\u00a0Louie Gohmert<\/a>, TX
\n4.\u00a0Doug Lamborn<\/a>, CO
\n5.\u00a0Robert J. Wittman<\/a>, VA
\n6.\u00a0John Fleming<\/a>, LA
\n7.\u00a0Tom McClintock<\/a>, CA
\n8.\u00a0Glenn Thompson<\/a>, PA
\n9.\u00a0Cynthia M. Lummis<\/a>, WY
\n10.\u00a0Dan Benishek<\/a>, MI
\n11.\u00a0Jeff Duncan<\/a>, SC
\n12.\u00a0Paul A. Gosar<\/a>, AZ
\n13.\u00a0Ra\u00fal R. Labrador<\/a>, ID
\n14.\u00a0Doug LaMalfa<\/a>, CA
\n15.\u00a0Jeff Denham<\/a>, CA
\n16.\u00a0Paul Cook<\/a>, CA
\n17.\u00a0Bruce Westerman<\/a>, AR
\n18.\u00a0Garret Graves<\/a>, LA
\n19.\u00a0Dan Newhouse<\/a>, WA
\n20.\u00a0Ryan K. Zinke<\/a>, MT
\n21.\u00a0Jody B. Hice<\/a>, GA
\n22.\u00a0Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen<\/a>, AS
\n23.\u00a0Thomas MacArthur<\/a>, NJ
\n24.\u00a0Alexander X. Mooney<\/a>, WV
\n25.\u00a0Cresent Hardy<\/a>, NV
\n26.\u00a0Darin LaHood<\/a>, IL<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n2.\u00a0Grace F. Napolitano<\/a>, CA
\n3.\u00a0Madeleine Z. Bordallo<\/a>, GU
\n4.\u00a0Jim Costa<\/a>, CA
\n5.\u00a0Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan<\/a>, MP
\n6.\u00a0Niki Tsongas<\/a>, MA
\n7.\u00a0Pedro R. Pierluisi<\/a>, PR
\n8.\u00a0Jared Huffman<\/a>, CA
\n9.\u00a0Raul Ruiz<\/a>, CA
\n10.\u00a0Alan S. Lowenthal<\/a>, CA
\n11.\u00a0Matt Cartwright<\/a>, PA
\n12.\u00a0Donald S. Beyer, Jr.<\/a>, VA
\n13.\u00a0Norma J. Torres<\/a>, CA
\n14.\u00a0Debbie Dingell<\/a>, MI
\n15.\u00a0Ruben Gallego<\/a>, AZ
\n16.\u00a0Lois Capps<\/a>, CA
\n17.\u00a0Jared Polis<\/a>, CO
\n18.\u00a0Lacy Clay<\/a>, MO<\/p>\n
\nLearn more<\/a> about the Land and Water Conservation Fund
\nLearn more<\/a> about contacting Congress<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"