If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve had the opportunity to take in the magnificence of our state’s natural beauty. Public lands across Colorado serve as one of our state’s greatest assets. And that’s why Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters alike understand the value of conserving Colorado’s natural heritage.
Unfortunately, a minority in Washington doesn’t share our priorities. Last month, because of their obstruction, Congress allowed one of our most valuable conservation programs to expire. For the past five decades, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has protected our watersheds, preserved our natural resources and conserved invaluable public lands. And it’s all done without spending a dime of taxpayer dollars.
In Colorado, one of our most significant economic drivers is our outdoor recreation industry that relies on well-maintained public lands. From skiing to river rafting to hunting and fishing, this industry contributes more than $13 billion to our state’s economy every year and supports 125,000 direct jobs. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is critical to helping maintain the land and water resources off which this industry thrives.
We’re fighting to reauthorize the fund and ensure it has the money needed to help maintain Colorado’s state and local parks and to ensure recreational access to places such as Great Sand Dunes National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest.
From Durango to Sterling and Mesa County to Lincoln County, Land and Water Conservation Fund projects large and small have been completed to enhance our public lands and our quality of life. During the past 50 years, Colorado has received approximately $239 million from the LWCF to protect these public treasures and ensure future generations of Coloradans will be able to enjoy them as well.
Southwest Colorado has reaped the benefits of LWCF projects. Just four years ago, the city of Durango tapped the fund to make improvements to the Animas River Trail. And in 2010 with the help of the Trust for Public Land, we protected more than 1,100 acres of pristine forestland in the Ophir Valley.
Elsewhere around the state, LWCF funding has helped revitalize the Blue Heron Trail in Grand Junction, expand the trail system through Lory State Park just outside Fort Collins and build an open space park and education center for children in Denver’s Montbello neighborhood. And in the aftermath of the devastating 2013 floods, LWCF funds are playing a critical role in the recovery of Lyons’ recreation economy and the restoration of the St. Vrain Corridor Trail.
Across our beautiful state, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped support our economy and our heritage. While a small minority in Congress is holding this valuable program hostage, we are committed to renewing and funding it.
LWCF does not need to be fixed by Congress; it just needs to be reauthorized as soon as possible. We owe it to future generations to leave our parks and public lands better than we found them.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is our most effective tool to do that, and we will work to ensure our children and grandchildren can enjoy the outdoors as we do.
Michael Bennet, a Democrat, is the senior United States senator from Colorado. Reach him via his website, www.bennet.senate.gov, or through his Durango office, 259-1710.
