Tell your members of congress to oppose cuts to land and water conservation funding for our nation's most treasured resources!
The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution (CR/spending bill) that will eliminate the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
LWCF was established by Congress in 1965 as a funding source to help protect public recreation lands for the health of all Americans. It accumulates $900 million annually through revenues from offshore oil and gas leases and is the principal source of funding for recreational land acquisition by federal agencies like the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service.
This amendment would:
* eliminate the LWCF program that has existed for 45 years, which is already fully funding by oil drilling leases, not taxpayer dollars
* bring an immediate halt to federal conservation efforts that protect national wildlife refuges, parks and forests; historic sites; and state and local recreation projects
* prevent revenues deposited in the LWCF account from being used for their authorized purposes, and makes them disappear forever. These funds were a promise made to the American people in 1964. This Congress should not be breaking this long-standing commitment
What you can do
Contact your members of Congress immediately and tell them to vote against amendments that would impose cuts to or eliminate LWCF. To find your representative, go to www.house.gov.
For more information, please contact Jessica Daher at 856-825-2174 or jessica@littoralsociety.org