Alan Lowenthal: “I thank Ranking Member Grijalva for calling us together for this Special Order hour to highlight the need for the Land…”

“I thank Ranking Member Grijalva for calling us together for this Special Order hour to highlight the need for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and for his leadership in seeking a permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. As has been pointed out, the Land and Water Conservation Fund is far and away our Nation's most important conservation program. The LWCF is a popular and successful bipartisan program for the conservation and protection of America's irreplaceable natural, historic, cultural, and outdoor landmarks. Over its 50-year history, the fund has conserved more than 5 million acres for parks, for recreation, for forests, for refuges, and for other land through the Federal program, but that is just part of the LWCF. Also, more than 2.6 million acres has been saved in communities throughout every State in the Nation. It has conserved iconic landscapes in every State. It is responsible for more than 40,000 State and local outdoor recreational projects at no cost, as has been pointed out, to the American taxpayer. In fact, according to a recent economic analysis, every dollar invested in the conservation of public lands through the LWCF leads to $4 in economic activities to local communities. Our Nation's conserved public lands are the essential infrastructure for a vibrant outdoor recreational economy that contributes over $646 billion to the economy each year and supports more than 1 in every 15 jobs in the United States.…”