Tell Congress: Don’t gut the Land and Water Conservation Fund

[Lee Arbach TBP]

http://act.credoaction.com/sign/LWCF?nosig=1&t=1&akid=14279.2356005.2Rg-wD

Last month, we celebrated Earth Day. Most people spend that day doing things to preserve and protect our natural environment. But Republicans in Congress took a radically different approach.

They held a hearing to find ways to gut the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) – the 50-year-old law that’s considered by many to be America’s most important and successful conservation program.1

This is just the latest assault in the war on America’s public lands that Republicans have been waging since the start of the new Congress – one we’ve been fighting at every turn. We can’t let this latest attack go unanswered.

Tell Congress: Fully fund and permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

If you’re keeping count, this is “strike three” for Congressional Republicans this year. First we fought back against their attempt to abolish the Antiquities Act, a 100-year-old law that allows presidents to protect public lands by designating them national monuments.

Then we fought against an attempt to turn back ownership of all of America’s public lands to states for sale to the highest bidder – which would allow pristine public lands that would become future national parks and monuments to instead fall into the hands of dirty oil and fracking companies.

Now, they’ve set their sights on the LWCF, a 50-year-old program, set to expire in September, that’s been the principal means through which we’ve acquired and protected new lands for national parks, public recreation, wildlife refuges, and habitat protection.

Their plan is to divert funds away from the program and strip it of its ability to continue acquiring land for public use. It’s a cynical attempt to keep new lands out of public hands and available instead to fossil fuel drilling, mining, and real estate companies.2

Fortunately, Democrats like Sen. Maria Cantwell and Rep. Raul Grijalva have offered bills that directly challenge this assault by fully funding and permanently authorizing the LWCF so that it no longer faces threats from Republicans who are eager to gut this vital program. We have to step in and support these efforts before that happens.3

Tell Congress: Fully fund and permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Thank you for your activism.

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