Access to nature is more important than ever in these uncertain times. As a balm to our spirits and a place to take some deep, cleansing breaths – while maintaining appropriate social distancing, of course – America’s public lands are crucial to our well-being.
Public lands champions in Congress have been working for years to protect and fund our country’s best tool for conserving everything from local parks and neighborhood trails to sweeping landscapes and national forests: the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of senators took a major step in this effort by introducing the Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422). This bill finally permanently funds LWCF while also addressing the backlog of maintenance work in our national parks, national forests and other public lands across the country.
In the news:
The Seattle Times Editorial Board wrote in support of the Great American Outdoors Act on March 19.
Read the statement from our national office on the introduction of the legislation.
We have been advocating for LWCF for a long time. We celebrated a year ago when Congress permanently reauthorized the program, a hard-won victory half a century in the making. Now, we’re close to achieving the biggest conservation funding win in many of our lifetimes: secure, reliable, consistent support for public land protection and continually improving access to nature for all.
Congress is working hard on essential emergency provisions to care for those hardest hit by COVID-19 across the country. We look forward to a moment soon when our most vulnerable neighbors are secure, and lawmakers can turn to the Great American Outdoors Act and make history by ensuring America’s public lands will continue to be places of respite and strength for generations to come.
