New bipartisan poll shows 88% of Americans support Land and Water Conservation Fund

Washington, DC—As the House of Representatives votes on a funding bill that would drastically cut conservation funding, a new bipartisan poll released today by the LWCF Coalition shows that an overwhelming 88% of Americans support continued funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

"Sportsmen have LWCF to thank for access to prime hunting and fishing areas," said Dan Howell, the Longview/Kelso Volunteer Chapter Chair of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. "Gutting the program puts wildlife habitat, our sporting traditions, and the huge economic benefits of outdoor recreation in Washington at risk."

LWCF is the nation’s primary tool since 1965 to conserve land for parks, wildlife refuges, forests, rivers, trails, historic and cultural sites and other important federal, state and local public lands. The poll finds that a vast majority of Americans want Congress to honor its commitment to fully fund LWCF. Yet in the bill that could be voted on as early as today, the House of Representatives has proposed siphoning off nearly all of these funds.

The telephone poll of 800 likely voters was conducted during the week of July 10, 2011, and was undertaken jointly by two research firms, one Republican (Public Opinion Strategies) and one Democratic (Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates ). The poll’s major findings (margin of error of +/- 3.46%) include:

• An overwhelming majority—88%—of voters support continuing to deposit fees from offshore oil and gas drilling into the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In 2009, 81% of voters supported continued LWCF funding.
• Voters from all major segments of the electorate support continued funding for LWCF, including:

93% of Democrats, 87% of independents, and 83% of Republicans

95% of Latinos, 88% of whites, and 85% of African Americans

86% of voters in each region of the U.S.

The findings come at a time when the U.S. House of Representatives has proposed a draconian 80 percent cut to LWCF in the FY 2012 Interior funding bill—the lowest level of funding since the law establishing LWCF was passed in 1965. The cuts have been proposed despite the fact that the fund uses no taxpayer dollars.Over the past 45 years LWCF has helped to protect land in every state, and in 98% of U.S. counties. The fund has supported more than 41,000 state and local park projects, and has helped conserve working forests, farms and ranches. Lands protected with LWCF funds provide clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, natural areas for wildlife, and a heritage of spectacular parks, forests, and historic battlefields for us and future generations of Americans to enjoy.

In Washington over the past 45 years, LWCF has provided approximately $525 million to help protect clean water, wildlife habitat, and working landscapes, and access for hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. LWCF investments have ensured that the public can enjoy Olympic, Mt. Rainier and North Cascades National Parks; Olympic and Wenatchee National Forests; Lake Chelan National Recreation Area; and Skagit Wild and Scenic River and Pacific Crest Trail.

Several projects in Washington are still waiting for LWCF funding, including efforts to protect Columbia Gorge and Nisqually and Willapa National Wildlife Refuges.

"The House intends to nearly zero out LWCF despite bipartisan public support for the protection of our parks and wildlife heritage," said Joanna Grist, executive director of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. "Why would the Congress choose to ignore the demands of voters?"

A House vote on the Interior Appropriations bill, which includes funding for LWCF, is scheduled for July 25. Several members of Washington’s congressional delegation—Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, Jim McDermott, David Reichert, and Adam Smith—recently joined a bipartisan group of 150 House members on a “Dear Colleague” letter requesting “robust and consistent” funding for LWCF.

CONTACT:

Kathy Westra, Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition
westrake@rcn.com, 202-258-6661 (mobile)

Hannah Clark, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition
hannah@wildliferecreation.org 206-748-0082

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The LWCF Coalition comprises conservation, recreation, business, and sportsmen’s groups working together to support the LWCF program in order to meet America’s conservation and recreation needs in the 21st century. For more information on LWCF and the places in each state that have been protected using LWCF funds, visit www.lwcfcoalition.org.