Dear Senator/Representative:

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been our nation’s most important and successful conservation and recreation program for 52 years and I am shocked to just learn that it expired on September 30th. Beginning with President Teddy Roosevelt, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has protected both national and local public lands and our drinking water in every corner of the United States for us all. Unless Congress passes reauthorization legislation, it could be gone forever, and along with it – future protection of the places we love. The time to act is now.

Save America’s most precious resources – our land, our water and our History. LWCF is America’s most important tool for meeting communities’ conservation and recreation needs – from iconic national parks and wildlife refuges, to famous historic sites and treasured cultural landmarks, to working forests and crucial natural habitats, to 45,000 neighborhood playgrounds, ballfields, and recreation facilities. 

LWCF does all this without using any taxpayer dollars – it is funded with revenues paid to the government from offshore oil and gas drilling. This is a critical investment not only in our quality of life, but in American jobs. Outdoor recreation, conservation and historic preservation activities contribute more than a trillion dollars annually to the U.S. economy, supporting 9.4 million jobs. After giving an estimated $17 billion in tax savings to millionaires, while pushing for $1.7 trillion in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and other earned benefits - why not give something back to the average American?

Please cosponsor, along with more than 200 bipartisan cosponsors, Land and Water Conservation Fund reauthorization legislation in the House (H.R. 502) or Senate (S. 569 & S. 896) and sign on to any Dear Colleague letters circulated to demonstrate support for reauthorizing and funding this important program. Support robust funding of LWCF and oppose the Trump Administration’s 103% cut to LWCF in their FY19 budget.

Please authorize continued use of offshore oil and gas drilling revenues paid to our government to permanently support LWCF. It’s not just protecting our clean water and public recreation - The Grand Canyon, the Smoky Mountains, and redwood forests are just a few of our natural treasures that you and the entire government can never replace. We borrow this earth from our children and future generations, for “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. Please do your job as a public servant to preserve and protect our country.

Thank you,
An Extremely Concerned Citizen & Voter