SACRAMENTO, Calif. – If you've ever fished off a pier, swum in a public pool, played ball on a local field or hiked in a state park, you've likely benefited from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

That program could be permanently reauthorized next week as part of a massive public-lands package before the U.S. House.

The Natural Resources Management Act would expand Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks, add new off-road vehicle recreation areas in San Bernardino County, and add 80 miles of wild and scenic rivers, plus 700,000 acres of land to conservation and recreation areas across California.

J.R. Young, a California representative and board member of the group Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, says the fund has touched every corner of the state since its inception in 1964.

"There's not a county in California that has not benefited from a Land and Water Conservation project. The list is massive," Young says. "It's just one of those critical core funding components that unfortunately, not a lot of people know about."

Over the years, the fund has directed $2.4 billion to projects up and down the state, from Humboldt Redwoods State Park to the Lake Merritt bicycle path in Oakland, to a sports complex in Merced County, to Embarcadero Pier in San Diego.

The fund uses no taxpayer dollars, only revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters.

Maite Arce, president and CEO of the Hispanic Access Foundation, says the thousands of local parks helped by the LWCF dollars are especially important to urban low-income communities. So, she thinks it is important to fully fund the program going forward.

"It's only been fully funded at its annual $900 million cap twice in 54 years," Arce explains. "So, on average, Congress authorizes Land and Water Conservation Fund to receive only about 46 percent of its allowed amount."

Its backers say the public-lands package also would greatly benefit California's $92 billion outdoor recreation industry. It passed the Senate last week by an overwhelming margin of 92 to 8.



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The federal government is investing $161 million into restoration projects across the West.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has selected 21 projects, including three in Idaho, for the funds - which originate from the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress last year.

Rob Thornberry is the Idaho field representative for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. He said the investments help a variety of the state's landscapes.

"In the Upper Snake area, it could be benefit for sage grouse," said Thornberry. "In central Idaho, the benefits could be for threatened and endangered species such as bull trout, salmon and steelhead."

Thornberry said the funds also could be used to replace culverts or do riparian restoration. The three projects in Idaho total nearly $27 million.

Thornberry said this is good news for people who use public lands.

"BLM's commitment of $161 million to restore 21 landscapes across the West will benefit fish and wildlife," said Thornberry. "It will benefit hunters and anglers, and it'll benefit local economies in the areas where BLM lands are going to be restored."

Thornberry said the projects are a chance for a variety of groups to collaborate on the ground. BLM wants input from tribes in the region as well.

The Nevada hunting and fishing community is sharing its top 10 conservation priorities for 2023 with Gov. Joe Lombardo's office, as they seek to "ensure the continued conservation," of species and diverse habitats in the state.

The priorities range from supporting science based management techniques to conserving big game corridors and seasonal habitats.

Larry Johnson, president of the Coalition for Nevada's Wildlife, said wildfires present "the greatest adverse impacts," to wildlife populations in Nevada. He added in a bad wildfire year, the state can burn over a million acres.

"Unfortunately, at our lower elevations and everything but our very high elevations, those wildfires, we destroy the native vegetation, and it is taken over by invasive species such as cheatgrass," Johnson explained.

Johnson pointed out cheatgrass is not only poor wildlife forage, it is fuel for wildfires.

According to Johnson's group and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, nearly one quarter of the approximately 20 million acres of priority and greater sage-grouse habitat in Nevada has burned in the last 30 years. Greater sage-grouse numbers have also significantly dropped by almost 80% in the Great Basin since 1960.

Johnson argued most human activity has an effect on wildlife. His group supports developing a statewide plan for siting energy projects. He added both traditional and renewable energy projects, transmission lines and other energy infrastructure can have negative effects on wildlife if not located and operated responsibly.

Johnson emphasized highways and fences pose negative impacts to big game. Despite the challenges, Johnson remains optimistic policymakers will listen.

"Things need to be done very carefully with our existing wildlife resources in mind," Johnson contended. "And it can be done. We just have to be smart about it, that is all."

Johnson hopes the priorities will be heard and considered as people are relocating to Nevada for its vast public lands and traditional love for the sporting heritage.


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This Saturday, June 3, thousands of Californians will be among hundreds of thousands of Americans heading into the great outdoors to celebrate National Trails Day.

Thousands of events are planned nationwide from hikes to cleanup events and more.

Alanna Smith, parks program associate for the nonprofit Save the Redwoods League, noted most trails cross the unceded ancestral homelands of native nations, adding the holiday is a good time to give back.

"Thinking about how these trails are created, and ways that we can help maintain them, that's a big part of National Trails Day," Smith explained. "Any way that we can give back is really a great way to celebrate National Trails Day, also."

This year is special, because it's the 30th anniversary of the first National Trails Day. The original was held on June 5, 1993, sponsored by the American Hiking Society. You can enter your ZIP code on their website, AmericanHiking.org to find an event or service project near you.

Smith added getting out on the trails has many benefits, both to physical and mental health.

"You also don't have to be out doing some strenuous activity," Smith pointed out. "You don't have to be trail running or mountain biking in order to reap those benefits. You know, just the act of being on the trail. It helps to promote calm, it lessens stress, it helps us to regulate negative emotions."

Organizers also encouraged people to consider other ways to make use of the trails this weekend from biking or bird-watching, to geocaching and nature photography.

The national system of recreation, scenic and historic trails was created in October 1968, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Trails System Act into law.