Colorado Senator Calls for Land and Water Conservation

Environment America

DENVER, COLORADO – With the deadline for a deal on a transportation-funding bill fast approaching, Senator Mark Udall urged his colleagues to support a critical conservation provision in the conferenced bill. Senator Udall has been a leading voice in the effort to protect treasured places around the country by supporting the Land and Water Conservation Fund—a program that was established nearly 50 years ago to provide resources for states to protect and expand parks, wildlife refuges and forests, without using a single tax-payer dollar.

Environment America’s Preservation Advocate Nancy Pyne issued the following statement in response to the Senator’s press statement:

“We applaud the Senator’s leadership in the fight to secure land and water conservation funding. Senator Udall knows the value of safeguarding Colorado’s natural treasures—the provision to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund is an important tool that should be included in the Transportation Bill set to expire this week. The provision passed by a significant margin in the Senate; we thank our champions in Congress for continuing to make sure that this popular provision is a part of negotiations in the House-Senate conference committee.

“For nearly 50 years, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has provided states with the resources to protect and expand national parks, forests and wildlife refuges. Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park and Arapaho National Forest are just two of the places that have benefitted from conservation funding. We must work to make sure this essential conservation tool is fully funded and will continue to protect treasured places for generations to come. The transportation bill proposal is a great start—we urge the conference committee to follow Senator Udall’s lead and include the LWCF provision in the conferenced bill.”