Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) fell short of passing a bill to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation fund at the tail end of the 115th Congress. The public land measure included several provisions that would reauthorize or reform public land management programs in rural California. Senate leadership declined to bring the bill to the Senate Floor for a vote despite its support from a number of western senators. The bill’s supporters claim the Land and Water Conservation Fund will be at the top of the priority list for the 116th Congress.
