As Congress considers the future of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the National Wildlife Federation and its state affiliates are calling for the permanent reauthorization of the program that has safeguarded wildlife and landscapes and benefited communities across the country for a half-century.

NWF and its affiliates pointed out that LWCF programs, financed by offshore oil and gas royalties, have helped increase access to public lands for hunting, angling and recreation and provided matching grants to states and communities. The parks, trails, forests, rivers, wildlife refuges, conservation areas, working lands and historic and cultural sites help support the outdoor recreation and tourism industries that contribute $1.06 trillion annually and support 9.4 million jobs.                                                                                               

"The last 50 years the Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped protect fish and wildlife habitat and ensured that families and sportsmen and women have places to enjoy the outdoors. The National Wildlife Federation is committed to keeping this program going for all the hunters, anglers, bird watchers, paddlers and other outdoor enthusiasts among our 5-million-plus members and supporters," said Emily Lande, NWF’s public lands policy specialist. "Congress has failed the American public by repeatedly refusing to fully fund this important program. With a growing population and increasing demands on our public lands, now is not the time to compound past mistakes and divert even more of the money to things this fund was never intended to cover."