It’s great Sen. Cory Gardner pushed to make the Land and Water Conservation Fund permanent (“
LWCF has been bipartisan since its inception over 50 years ago. For years it was Sen. Michael Bennet and Sen. Richard Burr leading the charge on conservation and parks funded with zero taxpayer dollars. Gardner helped move the bill but that doesn’t make him a conservationist – he’s voted against common-sense conservation initiatives or simply ignored them.
The best example is the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, which would protect about 400,000 acres across the state. Business leaders, local governments and many stakeholders have pressed Gardner for years to cosponsor the CORE Act. Rarely does a piece of legislation garner this level of support, but despite this, Gardner has ignored his own constituents.
If he wants to tout his conservation credentials, he should support the CORE Act now. Otherwise, it’s empty rhetoric.
Anne Dal VeraBayfield
