SAVE OUR PARKS NOW.
Freshman Senator Martha McSally has been quick to befriend President Trump and Secretary Bernhardt. McSally’s continued support for the Trump administration’s destructive public lands and conservation policies shows she doesn’t value Arizona’s outdoor heritage.
McSally voted to confirm now-Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt — a former mega-lobbyist who became the subject of a multifaceted ethics investigation just four days after McSally voted to confirm him. Despite her constituents’ strong opposition to Bernhardt, McSally stood by to let Trump’s most conflicted cabinet appointee manage Arizona’s public lands, parks and wildlife.
The junior senator from Arizona’s rhetoric just doesn’t match reality: she voted to pass the bipartisan and permanent reauthorization of the LWCF but she has yet to support fully funding the legislation. She even attributed and dedicated the legislation to the late Senator John McCain.
This isn’t the first time McSally hasn’t lived up to her promises. In early 2019, she voted to endanger the LWCF.
In Arizona, the outdoor recreation economy continues to grow. Waterways alone bring in $13.5 billion in job and tourism revenues. 201,000 jobs are supported by outdoor recreation, amounting to $5.7 billion in wages and salary.
Visitors to Arizona spend more than $20 billion, meaning the state has more funds to support their national parks and public lands. Arizona is home to iconic and well-known national parks supported by the LWCF, like the Grand Canyon.
But our national parks are in danger. Unless Senator McSally stands up to the White House and fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund, she is risking our public lands being sold off to the highest bidder.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund has been America’s most successful conservation, outdoor recreation, parks, and public access tool.
Established in 1964 by Congress, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was created to ensure our public lands and outdoor heritage would exist and thrive for generations to come.
Through bipartisan cooperation, Congress sought to safeguard waterways and air quality, protect public lands and increase public access while enshrining outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans.
The LWCF does not cost taxpayers a dime; instead, the fund invests royalties from offshore oil and gas leasing back into conservation efforts across the country.
Since its creation in 1964, Congress has only allocated the full $900 million allowed under the act a handful of times, meaning America’s public lands, parks, and public access continue to suffer.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund not only protects our public lands, but it also goes above and beyond to conserve outdoor spaces and maintains them for future generations. The LWCF opens access to sportswomen and men, hunters and anglers, hikers and boaters, expanding public access at the federal, state, and local levels. By increasing access, the LWCF stimulates economic opportunity in local, rural communities — the outdoor industry now contributes $887 billion a year to the national economy.
The LWCF preserves water resources, from the wetlands to watersheds, from mountain streams to the raging rivers. It provides a streamlined system for federal land management, reducing costs and consolidating overhead. The LWCF looks after rural communities, working with farmers and private landowners.
Our treasured outdoor heritage could not thrive if the LWCF did not exist. It works to protect historical and cultural sites, commemorating our national memory, from civil war battlefields to the Lincoln Memorial.
Our lands and waters, from the rolling hills of North Carolina to the steep peaks in Northern Washington need the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The LWCF invests America’s shared resources back into our public lands in order to preserve them today and for generations to come.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund was signed into permanent law on March 12, 2019. After decades of requiring renewal each year, the creation of a permanent law was a huge win for America’s parks and public lands. Unfortunately, Congress passed the LWCF without funding.
Currently, the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act (H.R. 3195) proposed by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) would provide full, dedicated funding to the LWCF. H.R. 3195 is backed by bipartisan support. The bill recently passed through its first House committee vote.
In the Senate, partner legislation was proposed to ensure full and permanent funding for the LWCF. Sen. Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Gardner (R-CO) introduced the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act (S. 1081), again gaining bipartisan support. The legislation has not been taken up by the committee for a vote but recently, the committee heard from a panel of interested parties concerning the bill.
Despite continued bipartisan support for the fund, the Trump administration has proposed nearly zeroing out the program in its latest budget.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund uses revenue generated from offshore oil and gas leases to conserve public lands and enhance public access in all fifty states.
The program was created based on the simple idea: if we deplete a shared resource owned by the American people in one area, we should support the enhancement of other outdoor areas. The intent was to strengthen and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans through land acquisitions, wildlife and public land protections, enhanced public access, trail improvements, and the creation and support for parks.