Important conservation funding passes house committee

The House Natural Resources Committee passed legislation today that will provide dedicated funding for land conservation and outdoor recreation. The provision, included in the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009 (CLEAR Act, HR 3534), would annually fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at its authorized level of $900 million. According to a Nature Conservancy press release, "at that level, the program would be able to proactively address backlogged conservation and recreation needs at the local, state and federal level."

The Land and Water Conservation Fund was established over 40 years ago as a powerful tool to bring recreation access for millions of Americans by using a portion of fees collected from oil/gas operations. This tool helps states to acquire open space or conservation easements, to build recreation areas, and to protect ecosystems by underwriting projects that bring a broad range of people to the outdoors.

“The LWCF was intended to mitigate in part the potential damages from offshore oil and gas production by protecting some of America’s most precious land resources and providing close-to-home recreational opportunities for Americans in every state in the nation,” said Will Rogers, President of the Trust for Public Land. “Given the tragic situation in the Gulf, the vision behind the Land and Water Conservation Fund is even more relevant than ever and we applaud Chairman Rahall’s leadership for including dedicated funding in the CLEAR Act.”

[Interactive map of Washington's LWCF funded projects]

[More about LWCF on Scat! Conservation Northwest's blog]