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After three years of pushing to eviscerate the Land and Water Conservation Fund, President Trump performed a sudden and complete reversal on Tuesday, publicly calling on Congress to fully and permanently fund America's most important conservation program.
In recent years, Congress has ignored the President's budget requests, which would have eliminated almost all discretionary spending on LWCF. The program was permanently re-authorized in March 2019, but that authorization did not guarantee ongoing funding.
With his tweet, President Trump brings his position in line with Western voters, who have consistently and overwhelmingly expressed support for full LWCF funding. CWP's Winning the West poll last year found four out of five voters in Western swing states supported full funding. Colorado College's Conservation in the West Poll, released last month, found similar support across the entire Mountain West.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who previously blocked full LWCF funding, appeared to fall in line with the president, saying in a statement, "It is a priority for the President. And it is a priority for me. We will turn to it in a timely manner."
Go West, David J. Hayes
In the latest episode of CWP's Go West, Young Podcast, a conversation with David J. Hayes, former Deputy Interior Secretary and head of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law. The Impact Center is tracking state attorney general actions in support of the environment, some 300 and counting so far.
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After years of trying to gut LWCF, I'm thrilled that President Trump reversed course and now wants to sign my bipartisan permanent full funding bill into law. I'm hopeful Mitch McConnell will drop his opposition to LWCF and let us protect our public lands and Montana's $7.1 billion outdoor recreation economy by fully funding this vital conservation tool.”
