Our Most Important Conservation Program
Dear Friend,
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is America's most successful conservation program. LWCF expands opportunities for outdoor traditions like hunting, camping, and fishing that are among the pillars of Western culture. In New Mexico, LWCF has helped preserve many treasured places-including the Valles Caldera, Ute Mountain, and Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge-that power our thriving outdoor recreation economy.
However, despite our best efforts to save LWCF, congressional inaction allowed the program to expire earlier this year. I am doing everything in my power to permanently and fully fund LWCF before the end of the year. I recently joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers and conservation leaders at the U.S. Capitol to express how critical this program is for New Mexico. I hope you can take a moment to watch and share my remarks.
LWCF has built a proven track record over the last half century as a successful program. The broad support LWCF has from both Republicans and Democrats is a testament to how well the program has worked all across the nation. We must renew it to continue protecting our drinking water, providing public land access, and funding neighborhood parks, soccer fields, and baseball diamonds for our children.
We have lots of things that are worth debating in Congress. LWCF is not one of them. We need to get permanent reauthorization and mandatory, full funding for LWCF across the finish line to ensure that the outdoor places we all treasure will be protected for future generations to enjoy.
Sincerely,
MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator
