Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) offered an amendment to S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act, which would reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), America’s premier conservation program whose authorization expired on September 30, 2015. LWCF has been a 50-year conservation success story, improving open space and outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans. The Burr amendment would also provide funds to increase access to public lands that may otherwise be inaccessible. On January 29, the Senate rejected the Burr amendment by a vote of 59-39 (60 votes were needed for passage; Senate roll call vote 43). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. A three year extension of the Land and Water Conservation Fund was included in H.R. 2029, the FY16 spending deal, which President Obama signed into law on December 18.