Great American Outdoors Act heads to president

A bill touted as the biggest conservation aid in decades passed the U.S. House Wednesday and now is headed to President Donald Trump for his signature.

The Great American Outdoors Act permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provides $9.5 million for deferred maintenance on public lands including national parks.

The bill provides permanently allocates the full $900 million for LWCF, provided through earnings from offshore oil and gas leasing without using any taxpayer dollars. LWCF was passed in 1964, but had only been fully funded twice in its history.

Members of Montana’s congressional delegation helped push through permanent authorization of the fund last year. This bill will guarantee full funding.

The bill passed the Senate June 17 on a 73-25 vote.

The House passed it Wednesday on a 310-107 vote.

Montana’s members of Congress praised the passage.

“This type of public lands win comes along only once in a great while, and we are now one signature away from it becoming law,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont,, said in a release. “The Great American Outdoors Act will help protect public lands that make Montana special and power our outdoor recreation economy for generations to come. It’s because of the hard work of public land owners across Montana making their voices heard in Washington loud enough to convince the skeptics that we’re finally on the cusp of a victory our kids and grandkids can celebrate. I look forward to President Trump signing it into law so we can get to work putting these conservation tools to good use.”

Since its creation, the LWCF has invested millions into Montana’s $7.1 billion outdoor recreation economy, Tester’s release said, adding that he first introduced a bill to fully fund the LWCF in 2009, and until recently was the only member of the Montana delegation to support full, mandatory funding for LWCF.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who along with Tester was one of the original cosponsors when Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., introduced the Senate bill and announced its introduction with Gardner, also praised its passage.

“This is the most important conservation legislation in over 50 years, protecting our public lands, our national parks, it is what we are all about in Montana,” Daines said in a release. “The good news is I secured an agreement from President Trump a few months ago to sign this bill once it’s on his desk. This is a great day for Montana. This is a great day for America.”

Daines, who is up for re-election this year, has been accused of “greenwashing” his record for stepping up in support of LWCF permanent authorization and permanent funding, but he has said he has supported conservation issues from his time in the U.S. House on.

He faces Montana Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, who cannot run for re-election for that office due to term limits, and Wendie Fredrickson, who is running as a Green Party candidate although the Green Party told the Havre Daily News they have no affiliation with her or the PAC supporting her, in the November election.

Gardner also is up for re-election this year.

Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont, urged his colleagues to vote for the bill before its vote.

“[The Great American Outdoors Act is] a fitting complement to our successful efforts to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. It provides dedicated funding to increase public access to public lands across Montana. I know how important LWCF is to Montana, and I’ll continue working to keep public lands in public hands and increase access to them,” Gianforte said.

Democrats questioned Gianforte’s support for the bill, citing past interviews where he said he preferred LWCF be funded each session of Congress and the fact that he did not sign on as a co-sponsor of the House version of the bill, which has 253 cosponsors including 36 Republicans.

He announced upon its passage in the Senate that he would vote for the bill.

Gianforte is not running for his seat in the U.S. House and instead faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney, Libertarian candidate Lyman Bishop and Green Party candidate Robert Barb in gubernatorial election in November.

Montana Wildlife Federation said the bill will fully fund one of America’s most important conservation tools, and applauded its passage in a release Wednesday.

“Today’s historic vote is a significant achievement for conservation of fish, wildlife and outdoor recreation in Montana and around the nation,” said Alec Underwood, federal conservation campaigns director for Montana Wildlife Federation. “Hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts alike can now celebrate this major investment in our public lands for generations to come.”

Since helping to pass LWCF in 1964, MWF along with its members and affiliate organizations have fought for full and dedicated funding for the program, the release said.

“The passage of the GAOA is a reminder that conservation wins can take a long time and a lot of hard work — but they happen when we all work together to convince our lawmakers to put aside partisan politics and do what’s right for Montana,” Underwood said. “This victory would not be possible without the good work of Montana’s congressional delegation and the countless organizations, businesses, hunters and anglers who have advocated for full and dedicated funding for LWCF.”