Are you worried about the future of our public lands and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but not sure what you can do? Calling your congressional delegation is one of the most powerful things we can do as individuals. You don’t need to be an expert on the issue, but the more people who call and talk about the importance of LWCF, the more likely your representative is to notice. It really does work!
All too often overlooked for their ecological value, the California’s Mojave and Colorado deserts feature stunning biodiversity, surpassing even many forest ecosystems. More than 2,400 native plant species, 72 occurring nowhere else on earth, reside in the windswept dunes, craggy mountains, life-giving waters, and other habitats that encompass the region. This landscape makes up 27% of the state’s land mass, sequesters 10% of its carbon, and is the nation’s largest relatively intact ecosystem outside of Alaska. This, however, belies the fragility of California’s deserts, which face unprecedented pressures from climate change and development.
After almost 60 years of fighting against diversion of Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) dollars, in 2020, the LWCF Coalition celebrated passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). This legislation secured permanent funding for LWCF at $900 million dollars annually, creating a consistent funding stream for conservation and outdoor recreation projects. By protecting our natural and cultural treasures, working forests and wildlife habitat, permanent LWCF funding ensures outdoor access for all Americans no matter where they live, clean safe drinking water, natural climate mitigation, and jobs in our communities. Yet, despite all these benefits and the overwhelming bipartisan will of Congress, LWCF is still under threat.
The Yakima River is one of the West’s premier desert trout streams and a lifeline for fish and wildlife of southcentral Washington. It flows 214 miles from Keechelus Lake in the Cascade Mountains to the Columbia River, with a glorious 27-mile stretch through the Yakima River Canyon. In the upper reaches of the canyon, Western Rivers Conservancy is using recreational access funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to place cherished river access points into public hands forever.
As the longest undammed main stem river east of the Mississippi, the Delaware River Watershed (DRW) provides drinking water to over 13.3 million people in the region, including two out of the five largest metropolitan centers in the country: New York City and Philadelphia, along with the cities of Camden, Trenton, and Wilmington.
The effects of climate change are all around us: extreme heat and cold weather; forest fires raging in the west; floods devastating crops and land in the Midwest; rising sea levels and storm surges taking lives in the south; shorter, more erratic winters here in the northeast. We must act.
Conservation is one of the many tools that can help alleviate the effects of a changing climate. Protected lands provide ecosystem services and natural resiliency, which is why nations around the world, including the U.S., are committed to the goal of conserving 30% of the planet’s land and waters by the year 2030.
Lying at the heart of the Northern Appalachian-Acadian Forest, the most intact, unfragmented ecoregion east of the Mississippi, Maine’s forest houses more than half of the largest globally important bird area in the United States. The cold waters of the area support the last stronghold of native wild Eastern Brook Trout in the U.S. The Western Maine Mountains are home to more than 139 rare plants and animals, including 21 globally rare species, and provide core habitat for marten, lynx, loon, and moose. Maine’s vast North Woods have a significant role to play in mitigating and adapting to a changing climate. Our 17.5 million acres of forest absorbs 60% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions annually, while harboring a wide range of wildlife. Unfragmented forests offer microclimates and habitat connectivity, and shelter cold waters, all of which add up to tremendous resilience in the face of change.
