WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, celebrated Senate passage of legislation he championed – the Great American Outdoors Act – which fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and makes a major down payment towards the maintenance backlog in the country’s national parks and federal land agencies.
The landmark legislation will, for the first time, fully and permanently fund LWCF at $900 million per year. Udall helped lead the push in Congress to permanently reauthorize the nation’s most successful conservation program last year. The measure poses no additional cost to LWCF, which is funded by a portion of offshore oil leasing revenue, among other sources, and used to add land to national parks, wildlife refuges, ball fields, and city parks.
In New Mexico, LWCF has invested more than $312 million to protect public lands and open spaces and increase recreational opportunities since enacted in 1964. New Mexico's $9.9 billion outdoor industry – which is built around outdoor spaces supported by LWCF – is a significant economic driver in the state, supporting 99,000 jobs and $2.8 billion in wages. Fully and permanently funding the LWCF will translate directly into aiding our economic recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“America’s public lands are at the very core of who we are,” Udall said. “Full and permanent funding for LWCF – one of the most successful conservation tools we have to protect and expand our public lands – is a historic game-changer for New Mexico and the nation. Families in New Mexico and throughout the nation enjoy access to millions of acres of public lands for hiking, camping and fishing because of LWCF. And investments in our public lands fuel our economy, and our way of life. I have worked for full and permanent LWCF funding throughout my career in Congress, and on the Appropriations Committee, I have been proud to secure major funding for this program over the years.
“My father, Stewart Udall, helped enact this wildly successful program as Secretary of the Interior under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and I’m glad the full promise of LWCF is finally being realized,” Udall continued . “The act also takes a big step to pay down the $19 billion maintenance backlog on our national parks and other public lands, helping ensure that our children and grandchildren can continue to enjoy America’s outdoor treasures. This legislation not only represents an investment in our public lands, but an investment in the foundation for our national recovery at this challenging time.”
As part of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act , enacted in February 2019 (Public Law 116-9), Congress permanently authorized the LWCF. However, expenditures from the LWCF continued to be subject to federal appropriations. The Great American Outdoors Act instead makes $900 million available in mandatory funding every year, on a permanent basis. The LWCF is not funded using taxpayer dollars, using royalties from offshore oil and gas for program revenue.
The bill also provides $9.5 billion over five years for deferred maintenance projects at the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Education schools.
The full breakdown of the $1.9 billion in annual funding for deferred maintenance each year includes:
- 70 percent allocated for the National Park Service
- 15 percent for the U.S. Forest Service
- 5 percent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- 5 percent for the Bureau of Land Management, and
- 5 percent for Bureau of Indian Education schools.
The full text of the bill is available HERE .
