WASHINGTON, DC, March 21, 2006 -- A bipartisan group of House members from red and blue states across the country has requested substantial increases in funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Forest Legacy program, calling it essential “to ensure that critical park and recreation lands throughout the nation are not lost forever.” Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) and Rep. Thomas Allen (D-ME) sent a letter Friday signed by 122 House members to the House Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations (see below) requesting $80 million for the Forest Legacy Program, $100 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) state grant program, and $220 million for the LWCF federal program in FY 2007. The House members represent states across the nation—from South Carolina and Alabama to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and from California and Arizona to Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The LWCF is authorized by Congress to receive $900 million annually in funding, a level that has been met only once in its 30 year history despite a designated funding source, the royalty receipts from off-shore drilling leases. The shortfall in funding has led to a backlog of land acquisition projects of approximately $10 billion, according to federal land agencies.
The Forest Legacy program assists states in conserving private forest land threatened by development. Participating sates requested over $200 million from Forest Legacy for FY 2007 alone, and 14 states that submitted projects for funding were excluded from the President’s budget request.
Andrew J. Falender, executive director of the Appalachian Mountain Club, said: “Our members truly appreciate the leadership that Congressmen Charlie Bass and Tom Allen exhibited in spearheading this effort again. Their initiative helps illustrate how strong support is across the country for land conservation in general and the Forest Legacy and Land and Water Conservation Fund programs specifically.”
Sarah Neimeyer, director of budget and appropriations for The Wilderness Society, said: “It is heartening to see such strong bipartisan support for restoring adequate funding for conserving our nation’s best lands. The number of supporters for increased LWCF and Forest Legacy funding is unprecedented and speaks to the urgent need to preserve what is left of this country’s dwindling open space.”
George Gay, executive director of the Northern Forest Alliance, said: "Thanks to the Forest Legacy Program and Land and Water Conservation Fund, critically important lands across the Northern Forest have been conserved with a new wave of important projects on deck for FY07, including the Grafton Notch Forest Legacy project in Maine that was top ranked in the President's budget. We are grateful that Representatives Bass and Allen have achieved an unprecedented level of success in their long tradition of rallying the U.S. House to support land conservation."
Jad Daley, coordinator for the Eastern Forest Partnership, said: "In the crowded eastern states, our forests are not luxury items – they are the green infrastructure that filters our drinking water, cleans our air, sustains our wildlife, and enriches our quality of life. Yet, only 14 percent of eastern forestland is conserved from development. Communities large and small across the East should thank Representatives Bass and Allen for their leadership in support of Forest Legacy and LWCF, our two best tools for conserving the forests that are our future."
Jimmie Powell, director of government relations for The Nature Conservancy, said: “The overwhelming bi-partisan support shows how critical this funding is to protecting some of America's greatest natural treasures. We thank all the members of Congress who support this funding which will help ensure that our national parks, wildlife refuges, forests and other public lands will continue to thrive and provide numerous benefits to local communities across the country.”
Alan Front, senior vice president of The Trust for Public Land, said: “Representatives Charlie Bass and Tom Allen, along with 120 of their House colleagues, have carried a resounding conservation message straight from the American public to the halls of Congress. Communities across the nation are working hard to protect the best of their natural and recreational resource lands. When those landscapes are threatened, people don't want to hear all the reasons why conservation can't happen – they want real public protection, which typically requires real money."
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