Katherine Hollis
What is the Land and Water Conservation Fund?
If you’ve never heard of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), you’re not alone. Yet, LWCF is one of the most effective tools we have to conserve land and improve outdoor recreation opportunities, and it expires this September. It's responsible for protecting sections of the Pacific Crest Trail and Mt. Si, to name a few. Follow this link to help save it.
LWCF was created in 1965, with the idea that a small portion of the revenue from offshore oil and gas drilling would go back to conservation. The LWCF Coalition calls the fund: “a simple idea: use revenues from the depletion of one natural resource - offshore oil and gas - to support the conservation of another precious resource - our land and water.”
What has it done for me?
The LWCF has providing funding to help protect some of Washington State’s most special outdoor places and ensure recreational access. WA has received $637 million in LWCF funding over the past 50 years, protecting ares of:
- Sections of the Pacific Crest Trail
- Parts of all three of Washington State's National Parks: North Cascades, Olympic and Mt. Rainier National Parks
- The Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area
- Mt. Si
- And even the the playing fields in Magnuson Park in Seattle
Washington’s vibrant outdoor recreation scene – and the places where we love to play - would not exist today without the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Why should I care about Reauthorization?
Currently, LWCF is tied to a specific revenue source: a small portion of revenue from offshore oil and gas drilling. If the LWCF expires on September 30, it will lose the connection to the dedicated revenue source, and the reality of ever getting funding back is slim to none. If we lose the LWCF, we lose a vital lifeline for continued preservation of our beloved outdoor recreation.
Simply put, LWCF is vital for our access to outdoor recreation, conserving outdoor spaces that are important to us, and helping insure equal access to parklands for all Americans.
What can I do?
The most important thing you can do is let your legislators know that you support the reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
This link creates a pre-populated email to your elected representatives based on your zipcode. Adding personal stories about places you love thanks to LWCF funding are very important to lawmakers who are working to reauthorize this program.
There are a number of bills calling for reauthorization -including one for permanent reauthorization - of the LWCF, but we are running out of time and need your help.
Will you speak out now to keep this important program alive?
We are proud to partner with the Outdoor Alliance on this issue.
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As a long-time Mountaineers member and volunteer, I want to reiterate how important the Land and Water Conservation Fund is to our organization. We are truly at risk of losing the most important tool for creating natural places for us to recreate. I think of the places I have spent the most time as a Mountaineer – the North Cascades, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Mt. Rainier National Park – all of these places have benefited from LWCF funding. I hope others will join me in expressing how much these places mean to our organization, and how important the LWCF will continue to be to those of us who love to get outside.
"The Private Islands Inside National Parks" http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/09/swiss-cheese-national-park/405865/
"Congress is about to let the Land and Water Conservation Fund lapse. Here’s why you should care."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/09/17/how-congressional-inaction-could-harm-your-favorite-park/
