25 MAY 2012

The House and Senate Transportation Conference Committee is negotiating a final bill and there are several provisions very important to the National Wildlife Refuge System. Not only are traditional transportation funds that benefit refuges (like Refuge Roads) included, the Senate version contains an extremely important provision that would provide $700 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for both FY 2013 and FY 2014 without a further appropriation needed. This could mean as much as $100 million for refuge land acquisition for the next two years. The two major sources of funding for Refuge System acquisition are the LWCF and funding from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (MBCF). The MBCF is where the funds from Duck Stamp dollars are deposited.

In support of this LWCF option in the Transportation Bill being discussed, our Friends Group, the Friends of the Migratory Bird/Duck Stamp, today signed on to a letter of support for LWCF. You can find more details and the statement of support here.