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Congress approves major public lands, conservation bill

Tester, Daines, Gianforte praise bill

Staff and wire

A wide-ranging bill that revives a popular conservation program, adds 1.3 million acres of new wilderness, expands several national parks and creates five new national monuments has won congressional approval, with all members of Montana's congressional delegation praising the bill and taking credit for its content, particularly blocking mining outside of Yellowstone National Park and permanently authorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

The office of Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a release that both of his provisions were included in a major public lands legislative package and are now one step away from being law.

"Montana is truly the Last Best Place because of our public lands and outdoor way of life," Tester said in the release. "These bills are heading to the President's desk as a direct result of hardworking Montanans who made their voices heard and kept fighting to protect our growing outdoor economy."

Following the passage of the public lands legislative package, Tester called on Congress to pass legislation to fully fund LWCF at $900 million annually.

A release from the office of Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said he applauded the passage of the bipartisan public lands package.

"This bipartisan public lands package is a historic win for conservation in Montana and across our nation, and after today, it's one step closer to becoming law," Daines said in the release. "I'm very glad to see the House pass this important package to help protect our public lands for generations to come, and I look forward to President Trump signing it into law."

Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., who introduced the House version of the Yellowstone Gateway Bill and last session introduced legislation to permanently authorize LCWF, urged his fellow representatives to support it before Tuesday's vote.

Permanently protecting the gateway to Yellowstone and permanently reauthorizing the LWCF will help preserve and expand public access to our public lands," a release from Gianforte's office quoted him as saying. "I strongly urge passage of this bill that's so important to Montana."

The measure is the largest public lands bill approved by Congress in more than a decade. The House passed the bill Tuesday, 363-62, sending it to the White House for the president's signature.

The bill combines more than 100 separate bills that designate more than 350 miles of river as wild and scenic and create nearly 700,000 acres of new recreation and conservation areas. The bill also withdraws 370,000 acres in Montana and Washington state from mineral development.

The bill would permanently reauthorize the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports conservation and outdoor recreation projects across the country. The program expired last fall after Congress could not agree on language to extend it.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said the bill represents Congress at its best and "truly gives the American people something to be excited about."

Grijalva called the bill as "a massive win" for conservation across the United States.

"Everyone from inner cities to suburbs to rural communities wins when we work together to preserve the outdoors," he said.

Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, the committee's top Republican, also hailed the bill and said it will expand access to public lands, offering "wins for America's sportsmen, hunters and fishermen."

The bill establishes national monuments "the right way," through congressional action rather than executive order, Bishop said, and "communicates a profound respect for local decision-making."

The hodgepodge bill offered something for nearly everyone, with projects stretching across the country.

Even so, it was derailed last year after Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, objected, saying he wanted to exempt his state from a law that allows the president to designate federal lands as a national monument protected from development.

Lee's objection during a heated Senate debate in December forced lawmakers to start over in the new Congress, culminating in Tuesday's House vote.

Environmental groups and lawmakers from both parties said they were especially proud the bill reauthorizes LCWF, which has supported more than 42,000 state and local projects throughout the U.S. since its creation in 1964. The program, one of the most popular and effective programs Congress has ever created, uses federal royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling to fund conservation and recreation projects.

"Public lands bring Americans together, and that's why Republicans and Democrats in the House voted overwhelmingly today for a bill that ensures the Land and Water Conservation Fund will be around for our kids and grandkids," said Diane Regas, president and CEO of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.

"Today's historic vote, following a 92-8 vote in the Senate, means that more people can have access to hiking trails, city parks and wild landscapes," she said.

"In an era when bipartisanship remains elusive, conservation is a rare issue that still brings Congress together," said Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. The bipartisan public lands package "represents a historic victory for our wildlife heritage and outdoor enthusiasts of every stripe," he said.

The bill creates three new national monuments to be administered by the National Park Service and two others overseen by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, respectively. The new monuments are the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Mississippi; the Mill Springs and Camp Nelson national monuments in Kentucky; the former Saint Francis Dam site in Southern California; and the Jurassic National Monument in Utah.

 

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