Bill would fully fund LWCF, boost national park maintenance

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Congresswoman Horn, along with a bipartisan group of 11 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives, introduced the Great American Outdoors Act. The bill, which matches companion legislation the U.S. Senate will take up later this month, would create jobs and bolster local economies through conservation and maintenance work on public lands.

“Oklahoma’s trails, rivers, and treasured outdoor spaces are not just an important part of our state’s identity, they are major economic drivers, but the impacts of the recent pandemic have taken a toll on our outdoor recreation industry and the communities it supports,” said Mike Fuhr, State Director for The Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma. “With more investment in conservation, we can help protect fragile natural landscapes and get people back to work. We’re grateful for Congresswoman Horn’s leadership and we look forward to working with her to pass the Great American Outdoors Act.”

The bill combines two conservation proposals that each have strong, bipartisan support. The first would provide full and permanent funding of $900 million each year for the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the amount it is authorized to receive from offshore oil and gas revenues – not tax dollars. The second part of the bill would invest $1.9 billion annually for the next five years toward maintenance in national parks and other public lands.

For more than 50 years, LWCF has been used to protect places in every state in the nation ranging from national parks to historic battlefields to local ballfields. According to the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation, Oklahoma has received $60+ million & funded more than 1,500 park improvement projects from the LWCF since 1965.

A just-released economic analysis shows that every $1 million invested in LWCF could support between 16.8 and 30.8 jobs. Additionally, research on the impact of LWCF shows that $1 spent generates $4 in economic value from natural resource goods and services alone.

The Senate’s Great American Outdoors Act was introduced in March and so far has 59 co-sponsors, a majority of the chamber.