ALERT: Support Land and Water Conservation Fund in Gulf Oil Spill Legislation
ACTION ALERT: Support the Land and Water Conservation Fund in Gulf Oil Spill Legislation expected to be considered next week by the House of Representatives!
We have a critical opportunity to secure full, dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and your urgent action is needed! Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are likely to consider energy reform legislation in the next week in response to the oil spill in the Gulf. The bills include a provision that will finally fix the “broken promise” of the LWCF by ensuring that offshore oil and gas receipts are used as intended to provide full and consistent conservation funding.
Please call or email US Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell today and urge them to support the oil spill/energy legislation and the inclusion of a fully funded and dedicated LWCF in the bill.
Senators can be reached through the Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121
Or send Senators Murray and Cantwell an email:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
LWCF and the Oil Spill:
The tragedy of the BP Oil Spill reminds us how vulnerable our public lands and waters, surrounding communities, and wildlife are to harm. We need sustained investment to provide long term protection of the natural places that are so important to us as Americans, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund was designed to do just that.
It is time to keep the promise that was made to use all the funding deposited in LWCF to protect places Americans care about for future generations. LWCF is authorized to receive a very small percentage of revenue from offshore leases for oil and gas- $900 million a year. However, Congress and various Administrations have diverted many of these funds from their intended purpose!
In Washington State, LWCF has provided funding to protect lands from Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks to the Pacific Crest Trail and Cascade Ecosystems to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and the Skagit Wild and Scenic River. The Fund has also provided grants to benefit state and local parks, trails and recreation facilities across Washington’s communities.
Protecting the environment protects our state economy. Active outdoor recreation generates over $11.7 billion in revenues annually to Washington’s economy and supports 115,000 jobs. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that each year over 2.7 million people participate in hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching in Washington contributing over $3 billion to the state economy.
Please call our Congressional Representatives and Senators today and ask them to strongly support the full funding for LWCF in energy legislation now before Congress.
