With big bipartisan majority, Congress saves the Land and Water Conservation Fund

Congress brought America’s most successful conservation and recreation program back from the brink.

In a bipartisan 363-65 vote on Feb. 26, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)—a program that protects public land in all 50 states, from national parks to local baseball fields and hiking trails. Ever since Congress let LWCF expire last October, our national network has been campaigning to bring it back by working to keep it at the forefront of our legislators’ priority list.

“America’s public lands are among the most important treasures we can pass onto the next generation,” said Erik Dumont, public lands advocate for our national network. “By permanently reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Congress has reinstated one of our best tools for ensuring we can protect these iconic places.”

The bill, which passed the Senate 92-8 earlier in February, was signed into law on Mar. 12.

Photo: During the World Series last fall, our national network’s advocates distributed baseball-shaped cookies to members of Congress to urge them to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Local Little League fields are among the many projects that depend on LWCF for funding. Credit: Staff.