(GREAT FALLS, Mont.) –Montana Conservation Voters’ Deputy Director Whitney Tawney today released the following statement in response to the dedication of the Falls Creek project and U.S. Senator Steve Daines’ tweet stating “we must fully fund” the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund:

“While we appreciate Senator Daines’ stated commitment to fully fund LWCF today, we must remind him that full funding is $900 million; not the $600 million he formally requested earlier this summer. If Senator Daines were serious about LWCF, he would be pressuring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and delivering full funding, not giving Montanans more lip service.”

First established by Congress in 1965, LWCF has been funded by offshore oil and gas royalties rather than taxpayer dollars, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to protect public lands and increase access to outdoor recreation. 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.

On May 16, Senator Daines, despite his previous claims to support full LWCF funding at $900 million, asked his colleagues on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for only $600 million—just two-thirds of “full funding.”

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Montana Conservation Voters is a statewide non-partisan membership organization that is 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.