Victory for the Future of Public Lands

Ripple worked for many years with Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO) on urging federal legislators to permanently authorize the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) – America’s most important program for protecting parks, wildlife refuges, and recreation areas for over 50 years. We helped frame the issue from HECHO’s perspective and worked with key spokespeople to write and place numerous op-eds around the country, including: My daughter and I love to explore Arizona, but it may soon get harder (for all of us) by local Girls Scouts Latino community innovation manager, Viviana Reyes; Keep nature within reach by investing in Utah’s parks and trails by Utah State Rep. Mark Wheatley in the Salt Lake Tribune; and Colorado kids need Land and Water Conservation Fund by Lisa Simms from the Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design in the Denver Post. Finally, on March 12, 2019, an historic victory for public lands occurred when the permanent reauthorization of the LWCF was signed into law with overwhelming bipartisan support. Hopefully, appropriate funding for LWCF will follow.