Bipartisan Vote of 73-25 Another Step Forward for Full and Permanent Funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund

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Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and to provide additional funding for national parks, wildlife refuges and other public lands over the next five years. Titled the “Great American Outdoors Act,” the bill would effectively double the amount of federal dollars allocated to land conservation each year and fund the program on a permanent basis. The bill would also provide up to $1.9 billion dollars each year to address the nation’s park maintenance backlog.

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The Great American Outdoors Act is led by U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Mark Warner (D-VA).

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Chesapeake Conservancy President and CEO Joel Dunn praised the legislation and the Senate’s action:

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“Today marks an enormous achievement in land conservation efforts here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and all across the nation. The Great American Outdoors Act is a remarkable piece of legislation that will dramatically boost federal resources for land conservation and maintenance for our national parks and wildlife refuges and other natural areas. I applaud the outstanding work of the U.S. Senate to bring this bill to the floor and pass it with such bipartisan support. The Senate’s action to advance the Great American Outdoors Act today marks an important milestone for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and for our parks.

“Thank you to Senator Capito, Senator Cardin, Senator Carper, Senator Casey, Senator Coons, Senator Kaine, Senator Gillibrand, Senator Manchin, Senator Schumer, Senator Warner, and Senator Van Hollen for their extraordinary leadership to advance and pass this bill. We now call upon the U.S. House of Representatives, whose Chesapeake Bay delegation members have also exercised extraordinary conservation leadership, to pass this important and historic legislation.”

Feature Photo by Kelsey Everett