We’ve finally done it! Together.
Today, the US House voted 310-107 to approve the Great American Outdoors Act, a bill that will finally fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and support much-needed maintenance at our national parks and other federal lands.
House passage follows the Senate’s 73-25 vote on June 17. The President has indicated he will sign the bill.
This is a huge deal.
We have been advocating for LWCF for a long time. We celebrated in March 2019 when Congress permanently reauthorized the program, a hard-won victory half a century in the making. Together with our friends across the country in the LWCF Coalition, we made thousands of calls and appeals to grassroots supporters, community leaders and elected officials to urge Congress to make the program a permanent, secure, reliable tool for American conservation.
You stepped up, leaned in, tweeted your support, sent emails and made phone calls to your representatives. Thank you. Our collective efforts have finally paid off.
Our excitement about this history-making bill may seem misplaced, especially at such a fraught time in our country’s history. Indeed, it may seem like an unlikely victory: in a bitterly divided time for our country and our communities, Congress came together to pass a bill with broad bipartisan support. But in another sense, it’s no surprise: Republicans and Democrats alike can get behind a bill that costs taxpayers nothing and does so much for so many. It’s, as the Everett Herald called it, “a breath of fresh air” during a time when America sorely needs one.
You may not know it, but it’s pretty likely that your favorite places exist and are accessible to you and your family because of LWCF. Ninety-eight percent of counties across the country have used LWCF funding to build playgrounds in neighborhoods that didn’t have any, to construct boat ramps, to install lighting at ballfields so kids can play safely at night, to grade trails so they’re wheelchair-accessible… the list is endless. While LWCF funding isn’t always visible, it has been essential to American conservation since the program was created in 1964.
The Great American Outdoors Act can’t come close to solving all our problems: there’s still a lot of work to do to make sure that the parks, trails, pools and playgrounds LWCF funds are truly welcoming places for Black and Indigenous people and for all communities of color. We are committed to doing our part to move society and conservation rapidly, thoroughly and consciously toward that goal. We as a country need to dedicate ourselves to creating a culture of equity and inclusion for our shared outdoor spaces. Funding from the GAOA is just one part, but it’s an important – and now, a reliable – part of getting us there.
And you’ve helped make it happen. Please join us in celebrating this moment.
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