Statement: HECHO Commends Bipartisan Senate Effort to Ensure Full Funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund

Yesterday, March 10, 2020, 56 U.S. Senators introduced legislation that would support full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The proposed bill, named The Great American Outdoors Act, would fully fund LWCF in addition to supporting national parks and public lands by addressing maintenance backlogs.

HECHO commends the members of the U.S. Senate who have come together to protect our nation’s land and water, preserving spaces that are important to our community where we can continue to enjoy and practice cultural traditions that depend on these open spaces.

“We are thrilled about this bill that would provide the funding needed to protect and conserve our nation’s public lands and waters, ” said Camilla Simon, HECHO Executive Director. “Thank you to the 56 Senators who came together in bipartisan fashion in order to put this into motion.”

About the LWCF

The Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) – perhaps the most important piece of federal legislation that has been protecting our nation’s land and water for the last 50 years —was reauthorized for three years in December of 2015. Through the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, the LWCF was permanently reauthorized in March 2019. This year, the LWCF may be fully funded through The Great American Outdoors Act.

LWCF if a vital extension of our existing historic and cultural preservation systems – a part of our collective American heritage that’s one of the most important legacies to be handed down to our children and grandchildren. It’s not just land and it’s not just water, our public lands are the essence of our democracy – where all Americans have equal ownership and access regardless of cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds. Preserving these spaces is not only important to the Latino community, it represents a fundamental American value.