New Bill Would Dismantle Critical National Park Protection Fund

WASHINGTON – Legislation proposed today to significantly alter the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) includes numerous damaging provisions that would jeopardize this critical federal program for preserving national parks, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) said today.

The LWCF helps prevent inappropriate development of private lands within national parks and other federal lands, but authorization for the revenue stream for the LWCF expired last month at the end of Fiscal Year 2015 after Congress failed to reauthorize the fund.

Though numerous public interest groups including NPCA are calling for a simple extension of the program, the draft bill released today instead makes many changes that significantly alter this successful 50 year-old program.

NPCA’s summary of the bill introduced by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) can be found here.

Below is a statement by John Garder, Director of Budget and Appropriations, National Parks Conservation Association:

“We’re alarmed this bill will only further threaten America’s national parks. It would effectively dismantle one of America’s most successful conservation tools on the cusp of the Park System Centennial. We urge Chairman Bishop to reconsider this damaging proposal and instead give the public what it has been asking for—an intact conservation fund that will ensure the continuing protection of America’s best idea – our national parks.”

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About National Parks Conservation Association
Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than one million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.