Where the Great American Outdoors Act stands now

An article f rom High Country News In August, when President Donald Trump signed into passage the Great American Outdoors Act, Democrats warned that he was only doing so as a political favor for Colorado’s Cory Gardner and Montana’s Steve Daines, two vulnerable Western Republican senators who co-sponsored it in an attempt to keep their […]

Yvonne Ferrell former NASORLO Exec. Dir. ( 1936 – 2020 )

  Here is an article about the passing of Yvonne Ferrell.  She was Exec. Dir. of NASORLO up to 2009.  She worked hard and was a strong advocate for obtaining 12.5 % of all GOMESA funds dedicated to state grants, among other accomplishments.  She will be missed.. ed.. BOISE – 84-year-old Yvonne S. Ferrell, the […]

Appropriators: Might be too late for outdoors bill’s details

The Trump administration has submitted more details to Congress about how it would like to spend millions of dollars for the conservation, improvement and acquisition of public lands. It’s not clear, however, whether Congress will incorporate the information into its fiscal 2021 government spending bill. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the chairwoman of the Interior-Environment Appropriations […]

GAOA Federal Projects released

The outgoing Trump administration is starting to fill in the blanks about how it plans to spend millions of dollars for conserving and refurbishing national parks and public lands. The Interior Department this afternoon released detailed descriptions of proposed projects to be prioritized for funding in fiscal 2021 through two pots of money made available […]

Outdoor Industry opposes Sec. Bernhardt’s LWCF Order!

Let the Great American Outdoors Act Stand Greetings from Washington, D.C., Today leaders from the outdoor industry, including Lise Aangeenbrug, executive director of the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), Adam Cramer, executive director of the Outdoor Alliance, and Brady Robinson, executive director of The Conservation Alliance, issued the following statements in response to a new order from […]

Opposition to Sec. Bernhardt’s Order on LWCF is swift and negative

PUBLIC LANDS Emma Dumain and Jennifer Yachnin, E&E News reportersPublished: Monday, November 16, 2020 Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Capitol Hill. Francis Chung/E&E News A key architect of the Great American Outdoors Act wants to see the Interior Department take “corrective action” after the agency announced sweeping changes Friday to how Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars can […]

Interior releases $900M outdoors spending plan

Log out Jennifer Yachnin, E&E News reporter Published: Tuesday, November 10, 2020 National Wildlife Federation volunteers at the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana. National Wildlife Federation/Flickr The Interior Department belatedly rolled out its plans yesterday for spending $900 million under a landmark public lands package but offered few specifics — aside from snubbing federal […]

FY 21 and GAOA LWCF Funding Recommendations Released

The following are the House, Senate and GAOA ( President’s ) recommendations for funding LWCF in FY 21 based upon a total of $ 900 million dollars of full and dedicated funding for outdoor recreation, as passed in the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020. For comparison, please note the FY 20 apportionment for state […]

Nine elections in 7 states provide for $ 2.2 Billion dollars in Conservation

In 2020, voters in seven states passed ballot measures that secured public funding and forward-looking policies to protect nature near them and help address climate change. These measures total $2.2 billion for conservation. PROTECTING THE EDWARDS AQUIFER Voters in Hays County, Texas, can vote to fund more conservation around the Edwards Aquifer. © Chase A. Fountain for The Nature […]

State and City tax revenues plunge… from previous levels..

Seventeen and one-tenth percent: that is how much state and local tax revenues plummeted this spring in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting recession. In September, the U.S. Census Bureau released its Quarterly Summary of State and Local Tax Revenue data for the second quarter of 2020, and the picture it painted was not […]