Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) cosponsored bipartisan legislation to permanently and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and provide funding for National Park Service deferred maintenance projects at the Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Education schools. The Great American Outdoors Act would fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund at the fully authorized annual amount of $900 million and makes $1.9 billion available each year for agency maintenance projects ($9.5 billion total) within the National Parks Service.
“Land and Water Conservation Fund investments have helped protect public lands and natural wonders across Nevada, which is why I’ve been fighting in the Senate since day one to strengthen the program. I’m so proud to cosponsor bipartisan legislation to permanently reauthorize and fully fund the LWCF, address the $12 billion deferred-maintenance backlog in our national parks and end the cycle of uncertainty that has surrounded this critical funding. I’ll continue to do everything in my power to preserve Nevada’s great outdoors for future generations to enjoy.”
BACKGROUND:
The Great American Outdoors Act will provide full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and address the $12 billion maintenance backlog in our National Parks System.
Senator Cortez Masto helped pass bipartisan legislation – included in the Natural Resources Management Act – to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund in February of 2019.
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