Virginia Cramer, virginia.cramer@sierraclub.org, 804-519-8449
WASHINGTON,D.C. -- Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed the Restore Our Parks Act (S. 500), the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act (S. 1081) and the Conservation of America’s Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic Life (COASTAL) Act out of committee.
In response, Athan Manuel, director of public lands protection for Sierra Club issued the following statement.
“We applaud the Natural Resources Committee for moving forward the Restore Our Parks and the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act. Funding America’s parks, whether national parks or local ball fields, is an investment in the communities and economies around them. It’s also an investment in our collective future, with more and more studies demonstrating how important the outdoors are for families’ health, for the outdoor economy, and for a stable climate.
“We can and should be protecting our lands and waters as part of the solution to the climate crisis, not encouraging more dirty fuel development that will only worsen the problem-- as proposed by the COASTAL Act. Opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling would take us dangerously in the wrong direction. ”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.