The Public Lands Council is making a plea to lawmakers.
Appearing before a House Committee on Federal Lands, the group’s president says they need money to continue their mission.
“We need to very specifically target some funding. Every agency, as you know, is out of funds. We need some funding directly for the monitoring protocols that we all live by so the agencies can get this monitoring done,” said Tim Canterbury.
Just last week, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said she would be freeing up conservation spending that farmers were already counting on, to the tune of around $20 million. Rollins says she is still reviewing other areas where spending can be trimmed.
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