Congress should fully fund for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) by passing the Great Americans Outdoor Act. As we all have experienced, access to parks is incredibly important for our mental and physical health, and remain a low risk activity even while we are social distancing. Unfortunately, for years Congress has diverted money out of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, leaving us with critically underfunded parks when we need them most.
Clean Water Fund has partnered with local DC restaurants and grocery stories to provide free reusable bags for packaging customers’ groceries and take out. The bags read: “Hungry for Parks? Congress Can Deliver. #FundLWCF” and call on Congress to include full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Restaurants include DC Brau, Queen Vic, Brookland’s Finest Bar and Kitchen, RedRocks Columbia Heights, The Girl and the Vine, Cielo Rogo, Hatoba, and DC 9. Grocery stores include Yes! Organic Market at their locations in Brookland, Capitol Hill, Cleveland Park, Petworth, 14th Street, Hyattsville, and Adams Morgan.
Since its inception, the Land and Water Conservation has protected our public lands and built many of the places that we all hold dear. In DC, the fund has supported many of our parks, including Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, the FDR Memorial, and National Capital Parks-East.
LWCF is a simple idea: that a portion of offshore drilling fees should be used to protect America’s land and water. The program is authorized to receive up to $900 million each year, but every year these funds are diverted elsewhere. We are hungry for parks; and our parks are hungry for their fair share.
Tell Congress: Fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund this summer!
