Dec. 16, 2015
For immediate release
ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico sportsmen were relieved to see today that Congress has agreed to extend the Land and Water Conservation Fund for three years and provide at least partial funding for one of the nation’s most important conservation tools.
Although the extension keeps LWCF alive and functioning, NMWF Executive Director Garrett VeneKlasen said it was disappointing that a small group in Congress had forced its will on the American people and hobbled a popular program that has protected public lands and provided outdoor recreation opportunities for thousands of communities since 1965.
“It is a shame that Congress had to resort to a temporary fix rather than reflect the longtime, broad-based support LWCF has had and permanently reauthorize the program,” VeneKlasen said. “The pressure is still on Congress to permanently reauthorize and fully fund LWCF, and hopefully that can occur before the current extension expires. This program provides important conservation and recreation benefits to all Americans. We can’t permit a few extreme members of Congress to destroy LWCF and rob Americans of the deal Congress made with them when this program was initially signed into law.”
Since the LWCF was created with strong bipartisan support 50 years ago, it has been one of the nation’s most important conservation programs. In New Mexico, sportsmen have benefited greatly from LWCF funding for a wide range of projects, from boat ramps and shooting ranges to improvements in our national forests and the purchase of Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Yet efforts earlier this year by Reps. Rob Bishop of Utah, Steve Pearce of New Mexico and others successfully blocked another bipartisan effort to permanently reauthorize LWCF. Importantly, VeneKlasen noted, the agreement approved this week rejects efforts by anti-conservation legislators to hobble LWCF under the guise of “reform.”
“This short-term extension is not perfect, but it would have been far worse without the strong support shown by most of New Mexico’s congressional delegation,” VeneKlasen said. “Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich have been outstanding supporters of LWCF, as have Reps. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Ben Ray Lujan. They know how critical LWCF is to all New Mexicans and we greatly appreciate their tireless efforts in getting this three-year extension.”
