Sam Farr Uses Facebook to Support Nature Protection

Contributed by Environment California:

On the first day of spring, Congressional champions stood up for California’s parks by calling attention to the Land and Water Conservation Fund on Facebook — a landmark fund first created 50 years ago with a legacy of protecting some of California’s most important places including Big Sur, Lake Tahoe, and Griffith Park.

Congressman Sam Farr (whose district includes Capitola), participated in the action posting: Author Henry Miller once called Big Sur “the California that men dreamed of years ago… this is the face of the earth as the Creator intended it to look.”

Today’s the first day of Spring, let’s celebrate by committing to protect special places like Big Sur for future generations. I’m proud to support the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has preserved special places like Big Sur here on the Central Coast and all across our great country.”

Right now, the Pacific Crest Trail is one of the many outdoor areas that is being threatened with development and could be protected by the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The trail is one of California’s unique and iconic landmarks, stretching from the Mojave desert, through Sequoia groves, and past Yosemite.

Currently, over 200 miles of land spread out across and adjacent to the Pacific Crest Trail are privately owned, and too often parcels like this are put up for sale to developers. This opens up land next to one of the California’s most treasured places to being sold off to any number of imaginable developments, such as roadways or housing projects.

As Congress debates the nation’s budget in DC, a group of members of the House of Representatives are raising visibility on the need to provide funding for local parks. Unfortunately, Congress annually raids the LWCF for non-conservation purposes, leaving a legacy of backlogged conservation and recreation needs. Earlier this week, Senator Barrasso (R-WY) and Senator Boozman (R-AR) each tried to further slash the program.

Congress will vote on funding levels for the Land and Water Conservation Fund as well as the National Parks budget this week as a part of the FY14 budget.

“I urge Senators Boxer and Feinstein to stand up once again for California’s natural heritage by supporting full and permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and to fight to make sure that the Pacific Crest Trail and other parks can stay open and in great working condition now and in the future,” said Sean Carroll, Federal Field Associate with Environment California.

Seven California Congressional members took part in the coordinated online action: Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Mike Honda, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Rep. Julia Brownley, Rep. John Garamendi, and Rep. Sam Farr.