Senate Funds Lands, Waters with Bipartisan Support

WASHINGTON – The Senate is poised to pass the Great American Outdoors Act today, which will provide permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, something NRDC has long called for. The House is expected to pass the measure in the coming weeks.

The following is a statement from Kabir Green, Director of Federal Affairs at NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council):

“At a time when the outdoors is more important to public health than ever, a bipartisan majority is recognizing how badly the country needs to invest in its public lands and waters and ensure access to them.

“Taking care of our parks, recreation fields, national forests, and wetlands creates jobs.  It also helps us fight the climate crisis. Supporting wildlife management and investing in our forests will enhance biodiversity and help sequester some of the carbon that fuels climate change.”

The Great American Outdoors Act also establishes a new fund to pay for long-delayed maintenance and repair of roads, bridges and a range of infrastructure in national parks and other public lands and waters. 

The National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Fund will provide up to $9.5 billion over five years to address priority repairs in national parks and on other public lands.

Since 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has been an important source of money for parks, pools, fishing piers, recreation fields and other projects across the country. 

# # #

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at NRDC.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.​