EDITOR: One of America’s most important environmental programs – the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) – will be under attack if Washington carelessly plays political games with funding for our nation’s parks. The LWCF has provided $270 million in Colorado alone for conservation and wildlife habitat protection, and for the benefit of all Coloradoans.
What many Coloradans may not realize is that the LWCF receives almost the entirety of its funding from offshore natural gas and oil revenues. This funding would be threatened if the U.S. House of Representative passes two short-sighted bills – H.R. 205 and H.R. 1941. If passed in September, these bills would impose a permanent ban on new offshore energy development in the Atlantic, Pacific, and part of the Gulf of Mexico. These measures go too far, and our Colorado elected officials (who should understand the importance of balanced energy policies) must oppose these harmful bills.
I urge Representative Crow to vote NO on H.R. 205 and H.R. 1941. They’re short-sighted plans that would hurt Colorado and our nation’s parks and public lands. Thank you.
Dick and Judith Merkel— via letters@Sentinelcolorado.com