This summer, sportsmen and women celebrated the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, the most significant conservation legislation in a generation. When the president signs this bill, projects to restore our public lands, national parks and open spaces will commence and the Land and Water Conservation Fund will see renewed funding in perpetuity.
This bipartisan, bicameral legislative victory did not come easily; it took decades of grassroots work and the tireless support of conservation champions in Congress to see the campaign to permanently fund and reauthorize the LWCF – and address maintenance backlogs on public lands and waters – across the finish line.
Our nation’s most successful and widespread conservation and access funding source, LWCF will now receive its full $900 million each year to secure our public lands and waters for us and for our children. The Great American Outdoors Act will also dedicate $9.5 billion over the next five years to restore failing infrastructure on public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Wildlife Refuge System, National Parks Service and Bureau of Indian Education.
As a member of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, I would like to thank Sen. Jones and Rep. Sewell for voting YES on the Great American Outdoors Act. Jones and Sewell your vote for this landmark legislation will help ensure our outdoor traditions and sustain our public lands, waters and wildlife for the benefit of future generations.
Sincerely,
Joshua Etherton
Valley