Trust For Public Land Praises Senators For Supporting LWCF

The Trust for Public Land today praised leaders of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for including permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in an energy-related bill. The LWCF, which was first authorized by Congress in 1965 and is up against a September 30 deadline for renewal, derives its funding from a small portion of annual revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters.

“Senate Energy Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski, (R-Alaska) and Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) deserve huge thanks for addressing the permanent renewal of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in their bipartisan energy bill,” said Will Rogers, President of The Trust for Public Land. “LWCF is an enormously successful program that supports conservation and outdoor recreation at the local, state and federal levels and is a critical tool for ensuring access to the outdoors now and for future generations.”

“The LWCF provisions in the proposed legislation will affirm a long-standing commitment to landowners and communities who depend on this funding year-in and year-out.” said Rogers. “As we continue our work with LWCF’s many bipartisan champions to secure stable and secure funding for conservation needs into the future, we recognize that this bipartisan agreement to permanently reauthorize the program is an important step forward, and we are very grateful.”