Media Contact:
Robin Carr, Landis Communications Inc
Email: Redwoods@LandisPR.com | Phone: (415) 766-0927
Statement in response to the FY2026 federal budget proposal that aims to redirect $900 million in annual funding away from intended land conservation and public access initiatives
San Francisco, Calif. (June 27, 2025) — Save the Redwoods League strongly opposes the White House’s proposal to divert Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) monies away from its core purpose: protecting America’s irreplaceable lands and expanding outdoor recreation opportunities. If approved, the President’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request would reroute hundreds of millions of dollars annually away from conservation projects in our National Parks, National Forests and other public lands to deferred maintenance—making a false choice that undermines both the protection and long-term stewardship of America’s public lands.
Save the Redwoods League calls on Congress to reject the FY2026 budget proposal and uphold full, permanent LWCF funding. Lawmakers must protect America’s natural lands and waters, expand outdoor access for all and fulfill the historic promise of the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act—leaving a lasting legacy for future generations without undermining our most effective land conservation tool.
For decades, the LWCF has been at the heart of the conservation movement in the redwood region, funding landmark expansions of beloved parks, including Redwood National Park, Muir Woods National Monument and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. These landscapes are essential for clean air and water, wildlife habitat and connectivity, carbon storage and public access. In a time of intensifying wildfires and droughts, it is vital to build upon hard-won, bipartisan conservation progress, not dismantle it.
About the Land and Water Conservation Fund
For more than fifty years, the LWCF has served as the engine for America’s conservation and outdoor recreation movement. Without using a single taxpayer dollar, LWCF invests in our quality of life, a booming recreation economy and our history and culture by using Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy revenue to conserve land and build parks. In 2020, the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act permanently reauthorized LWCF and secured full funding, while also addressing the deferred maintenance backlog on our public lands. The result: a historic investment in both land protection and infrastructure repair across America’s beloved parks and public lands.
Save the Redwoods League is a member of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition
Tags: 2025, LWCF, Press Release
