A bill that would fully fund the Land, Water and Conservation Act and would address the backlog of maintenance projects in national parks passed the Senate Wednesday with bipartisan support.

The Great American Outdoors Act will fund the LWCF at $900 million annually and allocate $9.5 billion for national parks and other public lands maintenance.

The bill was enthusiastically supported by Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, a Republican and Democrat respectively.

The LWCF has been used to great effect locally, conserving thousands of acres of lands from development along the Whitefish Range and elsewhere.

Close to home, LWCF monies were used to garner a collective 10,000-acre easement on F.H. Stoltze lands just north of Columbia Falls, which allows the land to be managed for timber, but not developed into housing.

LWCF lands could also be used in the future to conserve hundreds of thousands of acres of land owned by Southern Pine Plantations that were former Plum Creek lands.

More than 400,000 acres of land west of Kalispell could potentially be targeted, conservationists have said in the past. The land has historically been open to the public and is prime hunting ground.

“Today, we made history,” Tester said. “This is a moment that Montanans have been working toward for decades, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the years of relentless hard work from the folks back home who know just how critical LWCF is to our state’s economy. Not only will this landmark bill provide even more resources for our $7.1 billion outdoor recreation industry and the 71,000 jobs that support it, but it will help create and maintain our unmatched public lands for our kids and grandkids, and the many generations that follow.”

“Today, we passed the most important conservation bill for Montana and the nation in decades - one that will increase public access to our public lands, support our national parks and importantly, protect our Montana outdoor way of life,” Daines said. “I look forward to seeing it pass the House and getting it onto President Trump’s desk for his signature.”

The bill now goes to the House. It passed the Senate by a 73-25 vote.