House gives aid to LWCF
9 Aug, 2011 i-newsWASHINGTON — On July 28, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Coalition praised bi-partisan efforts by members of the House of Representatives to restore $25 million in funding for the LWCF that had been cut from the program in the Interior appropriations bill currently being debated by the House. The group also applauded the defeat of a proposal that would have eliminated the critical conservation program.
In late-night July 26 votes on amendments to the Interior bill, Reps. Charles Bass (R-NH), Robert Dold (R-IL), Jay Inslee (D-WA), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Pat Meehan (R-PA), Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Christopher Murphy (D-CT) succeeded in restoring $20 million to the fund. An amendment offered by Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) boosted LWCF funding by another $5 million intended to facilitate increased access to public lands for sportsmen and recreationists. Despite their efforts, however, the LWCF appropriation for FY 2012 still stands at less than one-tenth of the $900 million that Congress is authorized to spend each year.
During the same evening session, the House defeated by voice vote a proposed amendment by Reps. Paul Broun (R-GA) and Doug Lamborn (R-CO) that would have eliminated all funding for LWCF.
LWCF, which uses no taxpayer dollars, is funded by offshore oil and gas lease fees. Its purpose is to set aside a small fraction of the revenues derived from the use of offshore resources that belong to the American people for projects to preserve natural resources and enhance recreation elsewhere. Over its nearly 50 years, LWCF has helped conserve parks, wildlife refuges, forests, rivers, trails, historic and cultural sites, fishing and hunting access and other important federal, state and local public lands.
"Reps. Bass, Dold, Inslee, Gerlach, Meehan, Murphy, Reichert and Tipton deserve great credit for their efforts to restore LWCF funding in the Interior bill," said William H. Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society. "This bi-partisan group showed tremendous leadership in bringing this issue to the full House's attention. Clearly, they understand that Americans want to protect the nation's most important conservation tool. Just this week, a national poll found that 85% of Americans support full funding for LWCF. This effort to restore some LWCF funding in the House shows that the voices of these Americans are being heard on Capitol Hill. But even with this important step toward restoring adequate funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the House bill still falls woefully short in funding critical conservation needs across the board. More work needs to be done to ensure that natural resource programs have adequate funding in the final bill."
“These bi-partisan leaders recognize the critical work of LWCF in protecting watersheds, habitat, and providing access for hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of the Outdoor Industry Association. “They understand LWCF as an investment in healthy people, healthy communities and sustainable, American jobs.”
A bi-partisan poll of 800 likely voters released on July 25 found that 83% of Republicans, 87% of independents, and 93% of Democrats support continued funding for LWCF. The poll was conducted during the week of July 10, 2011, and was undertaken jointly by two research firms, one Republican (Public Opinion Strategies) and one Democratic (Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates).
At press time, a final House vote on the full Interior bill, including funding for LWCF, had not been scheduled.
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