Letter to the editor: Kansas, Missouri lawmakers in D.C. work together for conservation

Win for nature

In recent months, we’ve seen the important role outdoor spaces play in our daily lives — highlighting the need to conserve, maintain and improve access to these places for everyone.

The passage of the Great American Outdoors Act by Congress this month shows our representatives have received that message. In a great bipartisan win in both the Senate and the House, this bill will fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, or LWCF, and invest $1.9 billion annually for the next five years to address a massive backlog of unmet maintenance needs at national parks and other public lands.

Fully funding the LWCF means that the annual $900 million it is authorized to receive from offshore oil and gas revenues — not tax dollars — will go to the fund. In the past, although the money was there, Congress had typically given the LWCF less than half that amount.

We want to thank Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt and Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, along with Missouri Reps. Billy Long, Lacy Clay and Emanuel Cleaver II and Kansas Reps. Roger Marshall and Sharice Davids, for actively supporting and cosponsoring this bill.

Passage of the Great American Outdoors Act ensures that people in all states are able to enjoy a multitude of benefits found in natural areas, outdoor spaces and our national parks — signaling a lasting commitment to people and nature.

- Beth Alm, Trustee, The Nature Conservancy in Missouri, Kansas City

- Betsey Solberg, Trustee, The Nature Conservancy in Kansas, Kansas City