As printed in Arizona Daily Star 6/26/2020:
Last week was a historic victory for the Great American Outdoors Act. We’d like to extend our deepest thanks to the U.S. Senate for their overwhelming, bipartisan support to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, or LWCF, one of our nation’s most important conservation programs.
With funding provided solely from existing revenue sources such as gas and oil receipts (non-taxpayer dollars), the fund supports the protection of critical water resources, wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and key public landscapes throughout the country.
Arizona Land and Water Trust previously secured $1.7 million from the program to incorporate an additional 960 acres into Ironwood Forest National Monument with more local LWCF projects underway.
However, there is one more step to permanently fund the LWCF. Please ask your U.S. House of Representatives members to cosponsor the GAOA (HR 7092), creating a historic win for the American public, the places we care about and our local economies.
Liz Petterson
Executive Director
Arizona Land and Water Trust