Write to support LWCF revitalization

IMBA Trail News
Volume 12, Number 1
March 1999

IMBA encourages our members to support increased acquisition of open spaces and lands for trails by writing le tters to your Congressional Representative and two Senators. With the President and bipartisan leaders in Congress supporting full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, we have a window of opportunity. Seize the moment!

There are a variety of proposals, and new bills are being introduced as the 106th Congress progresses. So we do not need to endorse specific bills. Instead, please simply express support for the following principles:

1. Congress should enact full and permanent funding for LWCF $900 million each year.

2. LWCF should be an off-budget trust fund, not subject to yearly appropriations.

3. Funds should be shared equally among federal, state and local governments, plus opportunities for grants to non-profit land trusts.

4. Money should also be allocated to the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program and that program should include authority to acquire land.

LWCF was a promise made by Congress more than three decades ago. It's time to live up to this commitment.

Addresses for Congress: Representative _______, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515; Senator ________, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510.

You may also wish to thank the President for his proposal, which is the first by any President to call for full LWCF funding. President Bill Clinton, The White House, Washington, DC, 20500.

If you wish to take further action, write a letter to the editor of your local paper, or ask your local governments to endorse LWCF revitalization.