A Colorado coalition of 70 businesses sent a letter Thursday to the state’s congressional delegation asking the lawmakers to support permanently reauthorizing the 54-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund, which will expire Sept. 30.
The businesses, ranging from a mortgage company to outdoor equipment companies to retail stores, wrote to federal lawmakers that the fund has generated more than $268 million since its inception to help build trails in Colorado, protect fish and wildlife habitat and water supplies, and expand access to public lands for hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Investments in conserving the state’s open spaces and developing parks have helped build what is now a “booming $28 billion outdoor recreation industry” in the state, the businesses said.
The state’s outdoor recreation industry supports 229,000 direct jobs and generates $9.7 billion in wages and $2 billion in state and local tax revenue, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. Colorado’s robust outdoor recreation economy and support for public lands helped draw the Outdoor Retailer trade shows to Denver from Salt Lake City this year.
“Colorado’s incredible natural beauty was an important factor in my decision to establish my business here, and I see our public lands as vital to the Coloradan way of life,” Jim Nolte, owner of Denver’s Megastar Financial, said in a prepared statement. “That’s why I chose to speak up, even though my business doesn’t directly relate to public lands.”
Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner are cosponsors of S. 569, a bill that would permanently reauthorize and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Reps. Diana DeGette, Jared Polis , Mike Coffman and Ed Perlmutter are all cosponsors of a House version of the legislation. Rep. Scott Tipton recently announced his support for reauthorizing the fund. Reps. Doug Lamborn and Ken Buck didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The Denver Post on their positions.
The conservation program is funded through a portion of the fees imposed on offshore oil and gas. Congress has rarely funded the program at its full authorized level of $900 million per year. Congress agreed to extend LWCF for three years after it originally ran out in 2015. This time, supporters want Congress to permanently reauthorize it and commit to fully funding it.
Luis Benitez, director of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, said continuing LWCF “is absolutely vital” to fueling the economic engine that outdoor recreation has become in Colorado and across the nation.
The Colorado coalition calling on lawmakers to support LWCF says it’s particularly concerned about the impact on Continental Divide National Scenic Trail if the program lapses. The trail, which stretches over 3,100 miles from Canada to Mexico along the spine of the Rockies, has gaps where there is no access to public lands. Grants from LWCF are used to acquire land from open or improve access to public lands.
“Without LWCF, there is no obvious way to fund the willing sales necessary to create this protected public corridor, leaving this 40-year-old National Scenic Trail with no path to completion,” the coalition wrote.
In Colorado, several national parks have benefited from LWCF, including Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde national parks. In 2013, LWCF funds were used to acquire the 920-acre Cross Mountain Ranch on the Yampa River in northwest Colorado. The area is popular with hunters, anglers and rafters.
