WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) joined a group of 40 bipartisan colleagues in urging Senate leaders to work together to find a permanent funding solution for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) before the end of the year. 

LWCF, which has helped preserve thousands of acres of land in New Hampshire and across the country for 50 years without using taxpayer dollars, is set to expire in 2015. Senator Ayotte has strongly advocated for the program, and earlier this year proposed an amendment to create a budget "point of order" against any legislation that doesn't fully fund LWCF.

"The Land and Water Conservation Fund guarantees a prosperous and vital future for the next generation while preserving our uniquely American way of life across this nation," the senators wrote. "Accordingly, we urge you to enact a permanent and comprehensive solution for this vital program before the 113th Congress adjourns."

LWCF is an account in the U.S. Treasury that collects a small percentage of offshore oil and gas leasing receipts, specifically intended to be used for conservation projects. At the local, state, and federal levels, LWCF provides grants to help conserve our natural resources and protect outdoor recreation opportunities, working forests, and wildlife areas.

The letter was also signed by Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., John Walsh, D-Mont., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Tom Udall, D-N.M., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Angus King, I-Maine, Kay Hagan, D-N.C., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Al Franken, D-Minn., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Chris Coons, D-Del., Robert P. Casey, Jr., D-Penn., Ed Markey, D-Mass., Mark Pryor, D-Ark., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Tom Harkin, D-Iowa., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Mark Udall, D-Colo., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

The full text of the letter is below:

November 24, 2014

Dear Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell:

As legislative work concludes for the 113th Congress, we urge you to work with us to craft a permanent solution for funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The program supports local economies and stimulates critical investments in areas where our constituents live, work, and recreate.

This year, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) marked its 50th anniversary, celebrating a half-century of success in conserving our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness, monuments, and civil war battlefields, as well as creating and developing state and local parks in all 50 states. LWCF's current authorization will expire in September 2015. The time to act is now.

LWCF has been the solution to increasing access for hunters and anglers by making public lands public-protecting places that sportsmen enjoy from big game habitat to their own backyards. LWCF helps to ensure that our ranchers and forest owners can stay on the land, and that our local communities can have parks and outdoor recreation sites.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund guarantees a prosperous and vital future for the next generation while preserving our uniquely American way of life across this nation. Accordingly, we urge you to enact a permanent and comprehensive solution for this vital program before the 113th Congress adjourns.

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