"CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Conservationists are praising a rare bit of bipartisan cooperation in Congress to fund a program for public areas and historic and wilderness lands.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund takes a small portion of revenues from offshore oil and gas development and spends that on many different kinds of public lands. The 50-year-old program is set to expire in days, but Amy Lindholm, director of The Wilderness Society, said Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., have reached an agreement that could keep the funding in place.

'LWCF has been incredibly successful over the past 50 years,' Lindholm said. 'Those projects are vital things to their communities, and we want to see them continue. So, we're really thrilled with the agreement.'"

Dan Heyman reports for Public News Service July 24, 2015. [2]