SAVE OUR PARKS NOW.
TELL SENATOR DAINES
Senator Daines, it will take more than talk to save our parks. It will take action.
Senator Steve Daines has been roundly criticized for his lack of leadership when it comes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Then Daines voted to confirm the conflict-ridden David Bernhardt — a former mega-lobbyist and a proponent of gutting the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Daines is also a strong Trump supporter, despite the administration’s eliminating public lands protections for special interests.
On June 20, 2018, after standing on Capitol Hill, claiming to support the LWCF, Daines turned around and voted for legislation that would have cut an additional $16 million from the fund. Daines has also failed to stand up to the Trump administration’s budget proposals that would nearly eliminate the fund.
Daines voted to pass the LWCF into permanent law along with 91 other senators but he has yet to move legislation to fund America’s most important public lands, public access and parks tool. The LWCF has provided important funding for projects in both Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. It’s unclear what he’s done to turn his political talking points into actual on-the-ground action.
The LWCF invested more than $619.7 million in protecting Montana’s parks, public access, and recreation areas including:
- Bear Creek Flats
- Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest
- Beaverhead River
- Big Hole National Battlefield
- Bighorn Canyon National River Area
- Bitterroot National Forest
- Blackfoot Challenge
- Blackfoot River
- Blackfoot River Watershed
- Blackfoot Valley – Crown of the Continent
- Chain of Lakes Recreation Management Area
- Charles Russell National Wildlife Refuge
- Custer National Forest
- Devils Elbow – Missouri River
- Douglas Creek
- Elkhorn Ironmask
- Flathead National Forest – Crown of the Continent
- Gallatin National Forest
- Garnet Ghost Town
- Glacier National Park
- Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
- Helena National Forest
- Kootenai National Forest
- Lewis & Clark National Forest
- Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
- Lolo National Forest – Crown of the Continent
- Lone Pine State Park
- Madison River Special Recreation Management Area – High Divide
- Meeteetse Spires Area of Critical Environmental Concern
- Montana Legacy Completion
- Nez Perce National Historical Park
- Rattlesnake National Recreation Area
- Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
- Rocky Mountain Front
- Rye Creek
- Swan Valley Cas – Crown of the Continent
- Upper Missouri Wild and Scenic River
- Western Montana Project
- Yellowstone National Park
Why Senator Daines needs to fund the LWCF and support Montana’s outdoor economy:
Montanans value their outdoor heritage, national parks, and public lands — residents of Montana generate more than half of the outdoor recreation spending statewide. The outdoor recreation economy is also a robust contributor to the state’s economy, generating some $7 billion in consumer spending as well as 71,000 jobs. Those jobs produce over $2 billion in wages and salaries for hardworking Montanans.
But our national parks are in danger. Unless Senator Daines stands up to the White House and fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund, he is risking our public lands being sold off to the highest bidder.
What is the Land and Water Conservation Fund?
History
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.
Importance
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.
Present status and current legislation
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.
Where the funding comes from
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.