Conservationists are asking Congress to provide urgently-needed funds this year from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to acquire priority threatened and wild places across the country. Funds are needed in the Fiscal Year 2005 Interior Appropriations bill now before Congress to make sure the sites are permanently protected. That list
is below.
About the LWCF
Across the country, development and degradation threaten lands with outstanding wild and natural values. Protecting their fragile beauty requires fast work. Luckily, there is a way to save them.
In 1964, Congress made a farsighted investment in America's public lands by creating the Land and Water Conservation Fund or LWCF. Since its creation, LWCF money has bought over 7 million acres of open space and has been instrumental in the development of nearly 40,000 recreation and park areas.
But for LWCF to work, Congress must act each year to appropriate money for it in the Interior Appropriations bill to pay for critical projects. Money is tight this year, and opponents of LWCF are fighting to keep LWCF funding low. Last year, the House of Representatives did not appropriate LWCF for specific projects at all. This year, it’s crucial that both the House and Senate provide specific funding "earmarks" for priority LWCF projects. Congress won’t fulfill the promise of LWCF, and won’t save these critical projects in Utah, unless constituents like you make their voices heard. If these beautiful, threatened lands are not protected this year, they may be lost forever.
>> More on the LWCF
List of Projects
