Rep. Rob Bishop has been called a lot of things by the environmental community, but late this session of Congress he defied labels and voiced his support for reauthorizing one of the most important, if underappreciated, conservation laws, the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Bishop’s pursuit of a bipartisan deal to sustain this important program was a watershed moment for a town renowned for gridlock and on an issue that had previously and repeatedly died on the vine due to the congressman’s past opposition.
This important program, which leverages fees on offshore oil and gas development — at zero cost to taxpayers — has invested in and protected more than 41,000 urban parks, open spaces, wilderness areas and other public lands throughout the United States.