Congressional Update: House Bill Introduced to Require Full Appropriation of Land and Water Conservation Fund Money

On June 12, a bipartisan group of Representatives introduced the LWCF Permanent Funding Act, H.R. 3195, which now has 87 cosponsors. The bill requires annual appropriation of the full $900 million authorized for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and is a companion to Senate bill 1081 introduced in early April. The House Natural Resources Committee has already "marked up" H.R. 3195 and recommended it for adoption by the House of Representatives. If S. 1081 or H.R. 3195 becomes law, the authorized $900 million must be appropriated annually with 40% of the money allocated for land acquisitions by federal agencies, another 40% allocated to all the states by formula, and the remaining 20% to be allocated by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. A percentage of the federal allocation would be directed toward increasing recreational access, such as land closing trail gaps, to public lands. All Representatives and Senators are being encouraged by environmental organizations to join their colleagues in cosponsoring these major environmental bills...read more

PNTS July Webinars

Title: Update on Wilderness Character Monitoring in the Forest Service
Presenters: Julie King, U.S. Forest Service
Date and Time: Tuesday, July 9th at 3PM EDT
Overview: Learn more about Wilderness Character Monitoring (WCM), one of the most important tools for protecting designated wilderness areas. This free webinar is hosted by the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance.

Title: Empowering Women in the Outdoors
Presenters: Amy Lord, Ice Age Trail Alliance, and Sabrina Carlson, Arizona Trail Association
Date and Time: Wednesday, July 17th at 2PM EDT
Overview: This webinar will explore two groundbreaking programs aimed at empowering girls and women in the outdoors. Gear Girls and Trailtessa Retreats were designed by women for women in partnership with the REI Force of Nature initiative.

National Trails Day Events

Several national scenic and historic trails participated in National Trails Day on June 1. The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, for example, started its activities a day early to engage with local students near the trail's eastern terminus in Elkin, NC. NPS staff and members of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association led more than 50 high school students through stations, sharing the story of the Kings Mountain campaign and how their local area played a pivotal role in gathering the eastern group of Patriot soldiers. Other activities held for the public from May 31-June 1 included colonial games, live music, living history demonstrations, guided hikes, trail presentations, and a street fair along Main Street.