Western Values Project will run a newspaper ad in the Daily Sentinel calling out Senator Cory Gardner’s (R-CO) hypocrisy in voting to cut $16 million in funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) just hours after vocally supporting and promising to fully fund the critical public access fund.

“In typical Washington, D.C. fashion, Senator Gardner told people in Colorado one thing — promising to fully fund this critical public access and parks program — only to turn around and vote to cut its funding by $16 million,” said Chris Saeger, Executive Director of the Western Values Project. “Maybe Gardner thinks he can get away with a D.C. double-cross, but Coloradans won’t stand for another politician like Gardner undermining their public lands and access.”

The Land and Water Conservation Fund, whose funding is set to expire on September 30, 2018, uses offshore oil and gas revenues, not taxes, to fund countless local parks, waters, public lands, and hunting and angling access acquisitions. LWCF funding is critical for many communities in Colorado.

On June 20, 2018, Senator Gardner attended a rally in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., where he committed to funding the LWCF and highlighted the program’s importance to Coloradans, even calling the LWCF “the crown jewel of conservation programs.” Senator Gardner’s office even issued a release boasting about the “importance of funding this conservation and recreation program.”

However, immediately after singing the praises of LWCF and promising to fully fund it, Gardner turned around and voted for a bill to strip $16 million in funding from the LWCF.

Gardner’s double-cross hasn’t gone unnoticed: Coloradans have been calling out his blatant hypocrisy in recent days. Western Values Project encourages Coloradans to call Senator Gardner at (202) 224-5941 to tell him that we can’t afford his double talk.

Also published on Medium.