FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2020

New MCV vodka label calls attention to Senator Daines’ less-than-full support of public lands

(HELENA, Mont.) – Montana Conservation Voters today announced the release of its #GiveItBack Vodka, a private label batch of Montana-sourced spirits calling attention to U.S. Senator Steve Daines’ less-than-full support of public lands.

MCV is releasing the limited-edition vodka in half-bottles as a tribute to Senator Daines’ role in securing only $495 million for the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund for Fiscal Year 2020—about half of the $900 million LWCF it’s supposed to receive every year. Senator Daines serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“As a member of the party in control of the Senate’s agenda and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Montanans expect more than lip service from Senator Daines; we expect him to fight for our public lands like a true champion,” said Aaron Murphy, Executive Director of MCV. “With the release of #GiveItBack Vodka, we’re raising our glasses again to call on Senator Daines to give back what our public lands deserve by fully funding LWCF.”

Late last year, MCV released a website, GiveItBack.us, digital ads, yard signs and a petition calling on Senator Daines to fulfill his own commitment to fully fund LWCF at $900 million. Last May, Senator Daines requested only two-thirds funding for LWCF in a letter to his Senate Appropriations colleagues.

MCV will give away bottles of #GiveItBack Vodka to the first 100 adults who purchase tickets to its annual celebration and membership meeting in Helena on Friday, February 28. Tickets are available for purchase online HERE.

First established by Congress in 1965, LWCF has been funded by offshore oil and gas royalties, not taxpayer dollars, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to protect public lands and increase access to outdoor recreation. LWCF has invested nearly $600 million in the Big Sky State. The fund supports Montana’s outdoor recreation economy, which sustains 71,000 Montana jobs and generates more than $7 billion in economic activity in Montana every year.

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Montana Conservation Voters is a statewide non-partisan membership organization dedicated to fighting for Montana’s air, water, open spaces, wildlife and public health. MCV provides voter participation services to over 72,000 Montanans. Visit mtvoters.org for more details.

CONTACT
Whitney Tawney
Montana Conservation Voters
whitney@mtvoters.org
406-254-1593