WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) authorization set to expire tonight, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today renewed his call for Congress permanently reauthorize the program:

“Congress should take immediate action to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a valuable program that has for decades protected and preserved land across this country for the benefit of future generations,” Senator King said. “To allow this program to lapse would jeopardize public access to outdoor recreational opportunities that people in Maine and throughout the country deserve. I call on Congress to reauthorize this critical and visionary program without delay.”

In a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing earlier this year, Senator King passionately defended LWCF and called on Congress to permanently authorize and fully fund the program. Additionally, Senator King is a cosponsor of legislation that would permanently reauthorize the program, and in July, he supported in Committee a separate piece of legislation that would also reauthorize the LWCF.

According to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition, Maine has received approximately $172 million over the past five decades to help places such as Acadia National Park and the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site.

Unless Congress acts, the authorization for the LWCF is set to expire at midnight tonight.

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