Today, organizations representing hundreds of thousands of hunters and anglers delivered a letter to Interior Secretary Jewell thanking her for her leadership on the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week. In her statements, Secretary Jewell called for full and dedicated funding for this tool which has helped protect some of the country's best fish and game habitat. Created in 1967, LWCF funnels revenues from offshore oil and gas extraction to purchase public land from willing landowners. This tool has been used to secure new public lands, provide access to existing lands for hunters and anglers, and fill in patchwork public lands, allowing for continuous habitat for fish and game. Originally authorized at $900 million per year, this non-taxpayer funded program has dwindled in recent years, creating a backlog of needed acquisitions. By making the fund a mandatory spending program, it would prevent Congress from cutting it to fund other projects, and ensure a consistently full funding level from year to year. America's hunters and anglers know the value of these public lands better than any group, as they often hold the biggest fish and game, and support local rural economies by providing destinations for sportsmen. The letter,signed by The American Fly Fishing Trade Association, Bull Moose Sportsmen's Alliance, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Isaak Walton League of America, National Wildlife Federation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Trout Unlimited, pledged that sportsmen would continue to work with Secretary Jewell and Congress to protect our public lands by investing in LWCF.
