Three weeks left for Congress to do the right thing

There are probably no greater natural assets in the West than water and land, and America’s most important program to conserve irreplaceable lands and water, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), has justifiably enjoyed wide bipartisan support since its inception.

For over 50 years the fund has been responsible for funding the acquisition and enhancement of federal, state, and local public lands in almost every state and county in the nation, ensuring that all Americans are able to recreate and enjoy our lands and parks.

But despite its bipartisan support through more than 10 administrations and the creation of more than 41,000 local parks, ballfields, and recreation projects, if it is not renewed by the current Congress before Sept. 30, the fund will expire after 53 years of outstanding service to the American public.

Many groups understandably support the LWCF, and certainly U.S. military veterans do. As a sniper coming from a family of veterans, I served and returned home. Now with a son of my own, it’s important to continue the traditions of hiking, camping, getting out on a river, enjoying everything the outdoors has to offer. For many veterans, the great outdoors is an incredible healing medicine that helps us to recover from the after effects of battle. We find a peace we haven’t known for a long time that is often a transformative experience and the first page in a new beginning.

It’s no wonder that making sure the LWCF continues to protect that sanctuary is a nobrainer for us.

What makes congressional nonaction to fully fund and permanently reauthorize this vital program particularly nonsensical is that the many benefits pro vided by the LWCF come at no cost to taxpayers; it was authorized to receive up to $900 million annually taken only from royalties paid by oil and gas companies drilling offshore.

In Colorado, the LWCF has contributed approximately $268 million over the past five decades to protect incomparable landscapes such as the Great Sand Dunes and Rocky Mountain national parks, and on the state level to fund acquisitions at Golden Gate Canyon and Roxborough state parks and more — all playing an important role in growing Colorado’s lucrative $28 billion annual outdoor recreation economy.

The fund also helps to protect historic battlefields that are part of our American heritage about which veterans care a great deal. Without the LWCF, some of America’s most significant historic battlefields and monuments will lose critical funding that preserves them for future generations, including the iconic Gettys burg battlefield and the 9/11 Memorial. We stand to forfeit these and other conservation opportunities in midflight and future successes that may never happen without the fund’s renewal.

Perhaps most troublesome is the 180 degree pivot on the LWCF by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a former navy SEAL. When he was a U.S. Congressman for Montana, he was all in, but now under the watch of President Donald Trump he has proposed to zero out virtually all monies allotted to the LWCF. Coming from a military brother, this turnaround is especially disappointing.

On the bright side, we are fortunate in Colorado to have Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner as strong champions of the fund and cosponsors of S. 569 — the Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act, which if passed would make the authorization for the LWCF permanent. At this point in time, weneedthemtobeevenmore outspoken with their colleagues and demand that they come together and renew LWCF.

The notion of reducing public access for outdoor activities is abhorrent to many veterans. We have a deep understanding about outdoor places: take care of them and they will take care of us. That’s what LWCF has been doing fantastically for 50 years at no cost to taxpayers. Why would any member of Congress with the welfare of their constituents in mind want to throw that away?

We need to keep the LWCF alive and well — so that it may help to keep not only veterans, but all of us more alive and well. Justin Mock, Vice President of Finance and CFO; Bill Reynolds, Senior VP, Circulation and Production; Bob Kinney, Vice President, Information Technology