Congress just let America’s most important conservation and recreation program, #LWCF, expire – leaving your public lands vulnerable to commercial and residential development; states and cities unable to create new parks, ballfields and trails; communities unable to protect working forests and their way of life; and threatening the $646 billion outdoor recreation industry that depends on Americans’ access to public lands. They may not care about your opportunities to get outdoors or leaving a legacy of protected places for your children, but we do. So we need your help telling Congress that they FAILED us and demanding they find a way to get LWCF back.

How could Congress not listen to the majority of American people who want their public lands protected? How could they not remember that in its 50-year history, LWCF has touched every state and 98% of counties, funding over 42,000 state and local conservation and recreation projects, all without using ONE TAXPAYER DOLLAR. It’s a program that pays for itself to protect our nation’s heritage - it is funded through a small portion of off-shore oil and gas drilling royalties. The concept is simple: balance the depletion of one American resource -oil and gas- to protect another - our forests, water, and wildlife. They just let this program expire – meaning royalties are still being paid by oil and gas companies but that money is not going to conservation. What a waste!

But there is still hope – and we need your help to make sure everyone in Congress hears us. #LWCF has enjoyed bipartisan support for 50 years because the program makes sense. So does that make this the most ineffective Congress in 50 years to not reauthorize such a successful, widely favored program? Our champions in Congress like Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and Congressman Mike FItzpatrick (R-PA) are loud but they need us to join their call until everyone in Congress hears our demands to bring back this vital program that protects your public lands.

 #Outdoors4All