New Poll Shows 67 Percent of Voters in California’s 23rd Congressional District Want Land and Water Conservation Fund Reauthorized, Funded
WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 29,2018) — A new poll conducted for the National Wildlife Federation in California’s 23rd Congressional District shows 67 percent of voters there want to see the permanent reauthorization and full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. California’s Planning and Conservation League Executive Director Howard Penn and National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Collin O’Mara said the results show that Congressman Kevin McCarthy’s constituents want him to ensure this critical program continues to support outdoor recreation for families, hunters and anglers, and wildlife-watchers with the community parks, trails, public lands and outdoor spaces critical to our shared heritage:
“The Land and Water Conservation Fund has funded countless parks, trails, beaches, wildlife areas and outdoor spaces for families throughout California. These polling results only underscore why Congress and California’s delegation need to act before Congress calls it quits this year,” said Howard Penn. “Permanently reauthorizing and fully funding the Land and Water Conservation is an important down-payment on growing California’s outdoor-recreation economy and protecting our state’s wildlife heritage for many generations to come.”
“The Land and Water Conservation has connected Americans with wildlife and outdoor recreation for more than half a century. The poll highlights not only that Americans of all backgrounds are united in their support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but also the immense public support for Congress taking long-overdue action to permanently reauthorize and fully fund this critical program,” said Collin O’Mara. “Failing to act in the face of this overwhelming support would be a massive missed opportunity for our wildlife and outdoor heritage.”
Key results include:
- 67 percent of voters in California’s 23rd Congressional District want the Land and Water Conservation Fund renewed and funded;
- 48 percent of voters in California’s 23rd Congressional District would feel more favorably about Congressman McCarthy if he “voted to authorize renewal of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.”
- 39 percent of voters in California’s 23rd Congressional District would feel less favorably about Congressman McCarthy if he “voted to renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund but not fund it.”
The telephone poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling on November 26-27, surveyed 738 voters in California’s 23rd Congressional District.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which expired in September, uses fees from offshore oil and gas revenues — at no cost to taxpayers — to invest in urban parks, walking and biking trails, wildlife habitat, historic sites, national parks and other open spaces. The National Wildlife Federation worked closely with Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, Senator Clinton Anderson and Representative Wayne Aspinall to help secure initial passage in 1964. It also worked with subsequent Congresses to increase the program’s funding and improve its programmatic impact in 1968, 1970, 1977 and 2015.
Visit the National Wildlife Federation Media Center at NWF.org/News.