The House Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment Appropriations approved Thursday a Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill that proposes only $61.8 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)-an 80 percent reduction from FY 2011 levels. The bill will be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee next Tuesday.
LWCF is the principal federal program for conservation of key lands within our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and other popular and sensitive areas, as well as supporting state and local parks and recreation. Every state and 98 percent of counties in the U.S have benefited from LWCF projects. The program is funded using a fraction of offshore oil and gas revenues, and unlike other federal spending, uses no taxpayer dollars.
This deep cut to LWCF will have a direct and drastic impact on communities across the nation, affecting some of America’s most important and wonderful places like state and local parks, working forests and ranches, our national parks and seashores, and the historic sites, like Civil War battlefields, that tell our countrys story, said Will Rogers, President of The Trust for Public Land, representing the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition. If enacted, the Subcommittees proposed funding level would be the lowest in the history of this longstanding, bipartisan program. The LWCF Coalition urges Congress to provide the additional funds needed to meet critical needs that simply will not wait.
Land conservation projects in almost every state in the nation are depending on the outcome of the FY 2012 budget process, with willing-seller landowners patiently waiting for funding to complete conservation sales. At risk are projects that protect water quality, Civil War battlefields, working ranches, forests and critical natural resources, state and local parks, as well as those that ensure access to public lands for hunters, fishermen and outdoor recreationists. A 30 percent funding reduction to LWCF that was enacted into law for FY 2011 halted many of these key projects and the further reduction proposed for FY 2012 could mean the loss of economic and natural resource benefits for generations to come.
The proposed cuts to LWCF will impact access for sportsmen throughout the country, commented Blake Henning, Vice President of Lands and Conservation at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. For example, in Montana, the cuts will severely impact our Tenderfoot Creek project, which would secure access for public recreation including hunting by consolidating checkerboard land ownership in the Lewis & Clark National Forest.
We recognize that the current budget situation is forcing difficult choices on spending, but the choice to slash funding for LWCF cripples a program proven to support millions of sustainable, American jobs, said Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of Outdoor Industry Association. Chopping funding for parks, trails and greenways is a direct threat to our nations recreation infrastructure and the outdoor businesses it supports.
Outdoor recreation, much of which takes place on local, state and federal lands protected by LWCF, is vital to our nation’s economy. Hunting, fishing, camping, and other activities contribute a total of $730 billion annually to the economy, supporting 6.5 million jobs (1 of every 20 jobs in the U.S.) and stimulating 8 percent of all consumer spending according to Outdoor Industry Foundation. Economic studies show that every $1 invested in LWCF produces more than $2 in economic activity.
Many urgent, time-sensitive efforts to protect key places across America will be halted midstream due to the drastic cuts to LWCF. This includes conservation efforts for crown jewels such as Grand Teton, Everglades, Acadia, Olympic and Glacier National Parks as well as working ranch easements at the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana, the Flint Hills of Kansas and Devils Tower in Wyoming. In addition, funding for key recreation lands across the country-from the San Bernardino National Forest in California to the Upper Snake/South Fork Snake River and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in Idaho to the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails-would be cut. Even historical priorities like Civil War battlefield sites at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, and Richmond National Battlefield in Virginia would be eliminated.
The Forest Legacy Program, which is funded through a portion of LWCF funds, has also taken a massive hit in the Subcommittees bill. FLP provides grants to states to conserve forestland threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. At the $3 million funding level proposed by the Subcommittee (which is part of the total LWCF appropriation), projects such as the Big Rivers Corridor in Kentucky, High Peaks in Maine and Devils Tower Viewshed in Wyoming will not be completed and may be lost forever.
LWCF and the Forest Legacy program have been instrumental tools in keep working forests working across the country, said Peter Stein, Managing Director, The Lyme Timber Company. Rural communities depend on private forests to keep jobs in the woods and without funding for LWCF and Forest Legacy, opportunities for keeping working lands in those communities will be lost.
With approval of this proposal by the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, Congress is further undermining its commitment to the American public to provide consistent funding through the LWCF to meet our nations recreation and open space needs. LWCF directs a small portion of revenue from offshore oil and gas drilling be used to offset the loss of one natural resource through the conservation of other lands. In FY 2010 these revenues totaled nearly $6 billion, but the bill approved by the Subcommittee today proposes that only 1 percent of that amount be set aside as intended for Americas special places and for outdoor recreation. Because Congress must appropriate funding, LWCF has rarely reached its authorized level of expenditure.
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The Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition is an informal partnership working together to support full and dedicated funding for LWCF. The coalition includes hundreds of local, state and national business, recreation, private landowner and conservation organizations across the country.
