Blackwater State Park by Kent Mason.

Next Thursday, March 28, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which Senator Manchin is the highest-ranking Democrat, will meet to consider the nomination of David Bernhardt as the next Secretary of the Interior. Bernhardt is currently the Acting Secretary and, if confirmed, would oversee our public lands.

The Secretary of the Interior oversees 20 percent of our country’s land, including national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges and other public lands. The Secretary also plays a leading role in developing policies that impact our sportsmen and outdoor recreation industry.

West Virginians love their public lands and cherish our outdoor heritage. Getting outside is simply part of who we are and what makes West Virginia such an amazing place to raise a family. Public lands are more than a part of our heritage though, they are big business. Public lands in the Mountain State provide the backbone for our outdoor recreation economy, which employs 91,000 people in West Virginia.  The outdoor recreation economy also delivers $2.4 billion annually in wages and salaries and consumer spending of $9 billion per year, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.  In fact, the outdoor recreation economy is growing faster than the overall economy, says the study from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.

David Bernhardt has already shown his intention to gut the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) – which was recently permanently authorized by a bipartisan supermajority. Senator Manchin led the charge to permanently authorize the LWCF and now Bernhardt is proposing a 105% cut to this vital program. The gutting of this program would completely undermine the work Senator Manchin has done.

Call Senator Manchin today at 202-224-3954 and click here to send a letter urging him to oppose David Bernhardt’s nomination as Secretary of the Interior.

LWCF uses fees and royalties from off-shore drilling to pay for a host of conservation and recreation projects on public lands and in local communities. In West Virginia, LWCF has paid for trailheads, trails, put-ins, protection of wildlife habitat, soccer fields, playgrounds, baseball diamonds, swimming pools, and many other things that sustain our quality of life. All in all, West Virginia has benefitted to the tune of nearly $250 million for recreation and conservation projects in the 50 years the program has been in existence.

Without the LWCF, West Virginians would not have nearly the same number of opportunities we now have to fish, hunt, hike, float, ski, or snowmobile. That’s why Senator Manchin has championed the LWCF and led the charge to get it permanently authorized as part of the lands package Congress recently passed and the president signed.

Despite the overwhelming popularity of this program, despite how much it has benefitted millions of Americans and thousands of communities, and despite the fact that American taxpayers pay absolutely nothing for it, Bernhardt is not only proposing the most extreme cuts to LWCF in its history, he is actually attempting to prevent previously approved projects from being funded.

If Bernhardt is confirmed, there is a very real danger that we will lose LWCF funding. The gutting of this vital program would completely undermine the work Senator Manchin has done to save it. Senator Manchin would be working against his own stated priorities if he supports Bernhardt.

Call Senator Manchin today at 202-224-3954 and click here to send a letter urging him to oppose David Bernhardt’s nomination as Secretary of the Interior.