Title
Declaring support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Body
WHEREAS, public lands in Minnesota and throughout the country are a treasure to the people of Minnesota due to their stunning beauty, wildness, recreation opportunities, and intrinsic value; and
WHEREAS, protecting public lands is essential to preserving America’s biodiversity, especially at a time when the U.N. has reported that 75% of all terrestrial environment has been “severely altered” by human action; and
WHEREAS, 5.6 gigatons of annual Co2 emissions are stored in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, making the protection of lands an essential resource in local, state and national efforts to fight climate change; and
WHEREAS, The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), created by Congress 54 years ago, is one of the most successful government programs in preserving our country’s precious natural and cultural resources and improving access to the outdoors in urban and rural communities; and
WHEREAS, the LWCF has been a critical tool in creating, enhancing and conserving national parks and historic sites, national wildlife refuges, watersheds, forests, wildlife areas and state and local parks, trails, and ball fields, all of which are essential to the people of Minnesota and our health, culture, economic opportunity, and the future of our children and grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, in the last 54 years, LWCF funding has preserved and enhanced public lands that are critical to Minnesota and St. Paul such as the Boundary Water Canoe Area and the Mississippi National River Recreation Area, among dozens of other projects; and
WHEREAS, sustained stewardship requires funding, and LWCF takes a portion of royalties from offshore oil and gas development and invests that money in protecting America’s important public lands for future generations-be that an iconic national park or an urban playground; and
WHEREAS, while LWCF is authorized to receive $900 million annually, this threshold has b...
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