President Obama proposes permanent reauthorization of America’s best conservation program

Photo credit: Adam Cramer

This morning, President Obama announced a proposal to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the 2017 budget, along with permanently reauthorizing annual mandatory funding for the program beginning in 2018.

After the program expired in September, Outdoor Alliance worked hard to tell policy makers how important the program is to the outdoor community. As part of this effort, thousands of you shared your voices with your elected officials (some of you in person), urging members of Congress to bring the program back to life, fully fund it, and reauthorize it permanently. In December, LWCF was one of the few additional programs included in the omnibus bill (read more about that here), which was a huge win for everyone who loves the outdoors.

President Obama’s announcement is a good sign for the conservation and recreation communities, and is strong evidence that the voices of the outdoor community—as well as businesses, conservation groups, sportsmen, and others—are making a difference.