Today in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill to support our public lands, including permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)!
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) co-sponsored the “Lands Package” (as the bill is known for short), along with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). We applaud their cooperative, bipartisan leadership and resolute focus on permanent reauthorization for LWCF, a crucial tool for protecting America’s public lands.

After expiring at the end of September last year, LWCF is one step closer to once again protecting open spaces and beautiful landscapes like Washington’s shrub-steppe. Photo by Kit Swartz.
In addition to permanently reauthorizing LWCF, there are other great things for Washington in this bill, including:
Establishment of the Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area
Authorization of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan
Protection of 340,000 acres in the Methow Valley from mineral development
The permanent reauthorization of LWCF is critically important to local project sponsors doing on-the-ground conservation work. It provides much-needed predictability for local and state parks departments, city governments and land managers who rely on match funding and often have limited timelines to complete projects.
More broadly, permanent reauthorization means that this popular and successful program — a program that costs taxpayers nothing, but that touches lives in nearly every county in America — will be around for generations to come.
The bill now moves to the U.S. House for its consideration, where we hope it will pass quickly on to the president’s desk. Contact your representative in the House today to encourage swift passage of the Lands Package!
We’re tracking snow accumulation and melt-out in the Cascade forests, collecting key data that will help ensure water security for valleys and communities below.
The US Senate has approved a bipartisan bill to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Thanks to the leadership of Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and colleagues across the country, the bill to ensure the conservation of our shared public lands and waters for generations of Americans to come now heads to the House.
We’re searching for snowpack in the Eastern Cascades, to find the best way to keep water secure as our climate warms.
Where does forest health overlap between the evergreen forests of Washington and the flatwood savannas of the Mississippi Delta?
Today, we are releasing a Request for Proposals to support the capacity of local organizations to implement tree planting throughout Puget Sound urban areas. Up to $250,000 in funding will be distributed.
The highest tides of the year offer a glimpse into a future of rising sea levels along Washington’s coast.
Jon Cowan, Stewardship Intern, reflects about his time spent at Moses Coulee Preserve, a Nature Conservancy owned property in Central Washington.
Our priorities for the 2019 Legislature touch upon all our work, and all our lives, whether we live in the Palouse, along the coast, or in between. They include tackling climate change, protecting the natural and cultural wealth that makes Washington special, and improving equity in environmental policymaking so that all of us can benefit from cleaner, healthier air and water.
Ellsworth Creek Preserve offers a number of unique science and preservation opportunities. For instance, we are exploring options for restoring forests and streams from the headwaters to the estuary.
Not every outdoors adventure leads to your destination or the perfect photo. Often, lots of persistence and patience is required.