It’s no secret that we live in politically divided times. Maybe this is nothing new, or maybe we’re entering a new state of political discourse, it’s hard to see where we’re heading. But I do know that working in conservation gives an amazing opportunity for people of all political inclinations to come together and agree on a host of issues.
Poll after poll of Western residents shows that conservation, protecting public lands, and outdoor recreation is a nonpartisan issue. According to a 2017 – 2018 poll conducted by Colorado College, 61 percent of New Mexicans oppose state takeover of public lands, 86 percent visited public lands in the past year, and 77 percent consider themselves outdoor enthusiasts. Clearly, the outdoors is a place where most New Mexicans – and Americans – can agree even if they don’t see eye to eye on literally anything else.
A great example of what should be a nonpartisan conservation issue is the Land and Water Conservation Fund. It’s a conservation tool that many Americans don’t know about, even though almost every American has been impacted by it. That’s not an exaggeration – almost every single Congressional district in the United States has received money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). So why doesn’t the average citizen know about it? Maybe because, amazingly, it comes at no cost to taxpayers. That’s right. LWCF uses money from offshore oil and gas leasings and holdings and puts that money to opening up public lands access, maintaining city and state parks, building public pools, and supporting restoration projects in our forests.
The city park you walk to after work with your kids could have received maintenance money from LWCF, making this green space open and safe for communities. The state park where families can spend a night camping out of the city probably got LWCF money at some point to address maintenance issues. Or maybe you’re going on a backcountry hunt. Yep, there’s a good chance LWCF had something to do with that too. For example, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument has benefitted from LWCF when funds were utilized to purchase private land from a willing seller to open up more public lands access to hunters, anglers, and anyone who enjoys getting outside.
So LWCF sounds pretty great right? Unfortunately, LWCF has turned into an unnecessary political battle in the past couple of years. Signed into law in 1964 the fund was originally designated for a 50 year time period. Since then Congress has had to extend the program when the fund expires, usually opting for only a couple years extension at a time which was never the original intention of the fund. Right now we’re coming up on another expiration date on September 30th. The New Mexico Wildlife Federation is calling on all our Congressional representatives to support permanent reauthorization so we can avoid these political battles over such a successful program in the future.
Expiration is not the only threat to LWCF. In the beginning of 2018 the Trump administration proposed a 90 percent cut to the program. Sadly, LWCF having it’s funding cut or raided is nothing new – although this does seem to be a more aggressive attack than usual. LWCF should be funded at $900 million, but that rarely happens as elected officials often pilfer the fund for their own purposes. That’s why in addition to calling on our elected officials to permanently reauthorize LWCF, NMWF is also requesting full funding for the program so it can live up to its potential.
New Mexicans are lucky to have strong advocates for LWCF at every level of government. Over the past couple of months the city of Santa Fe, the town of Mesilla, Bernalillo County Commissioners, and the Albuquerque City Council have all passed resolutions showing their support for full funding and permanent reauthorization. Representatives Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham and Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich have all been fighting to save the fund. NMWF has joined our partners across the state hosting film viewings, hikes, activities, and petitions getting New Mexicans educated and advocating about LWCF.
But there’s always more that we can do. Your elected officials need to hear from their constituents about this issue. Even if you know your representative supports LWCF it’s still important for them to hear from you so they know this is a high priority issue!
As of print time, it’s unclear what’s going to happen to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. But we do know that an outpouring of support from the public will go a long way in saving this amazing conservation tool. Check back on our website, nmwildlife.org, for updates on the status of LWCF.
And head down to your local park to enjoy the benefits of LWCF so we know what we’re protecting for future generations.
