Big news for parks fans! This week the Senate passed the Great American Outdoors Act, a landmark conservation bill that will shape the future of parks and open spaces in America for generations to come. By a 73-25 margin, Senators on both sides of the aisle united behind the dual goals of fixing the massive maintenance backlog at our national parks and other public lands, and securing full and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, or LWCF.
(Read more about the Great American Outdoors Act from one of its authors, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.)
LWCF is a longstanding federal program that directs fees from oil and gas drilling to investments in parks and open space. It costs taxpayers nothing—but benefits everyone. The legislation that created LWCF back in the 1960s allocates up to $900 million to parks and conservation ever year, but that funding has never been guaranteed. Instead, for the past decade, Congress has directed more than half of that funding to other ends.
Here’s why the Great American Outdoors Act is such a big deal: if this bill passes Congress and clears the president’s desk, it’ll amount to a 240 percent increase in LWCF funding for the decade to come, compared to the decade that just passed. That means stable and predictable public funding to support big, complex land conservation deals—and a massive expansion in federal support for our goal of creating a park within a 10-minute walk of every person in America.
Johnson Oak Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut.Photo Credit: Nick Benson Photography
(Why is this important now? Explore ten communities that need LWCF funding to protect and create the places that matter to them.)
Trust for Public Land supporters have been fighting for this important policy for over twenty years. In the weeks to come, we’ll be keeping the pressure on our elected leaders to make sure they follow through on the promise of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
What's at stake
Wherever you go to get outside, chances are some of your favorite places were protected thanks to LWCF. The fund has been used to conserve land in all 50 states and complete more than 45,000 state and local park projects—everything from historic sites and cultural landmarks to the forests and lakes where you go to camp, hike, fish, and explore.
Explore a few recent projects whose success depends on LWCF below. The future of countless places like these is on the line right now as the House of Representatives takes up the bill in the coming weeks. If you believe everyone deserves a great place to get outside, urge your representative to support the Great American Outdoors Act.
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