Conservation wins included in congressional spending bills

WASHINGTON, December 19, 2019 ---- Today, Congress sent the White House for signature two government funding packages, staving off a government shutdown and ensuring increased funding levels won during the last budget agreement. 

While not perfect, the domestic-focused bill, H.R. 1865, includes important policy wins thanks to strong leadership from Senator Schumer, Senator Udall, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer and Rep. McCollum, among others.  

Positive items include:

• A vital one-year leasing pause for Chaco Culture National Historical Park as tribal leaders fight for permanent protection from oil and gas development.
• The highest funding level for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) in more than 15 years ($495 million) and valuable directive bill language that ensures the Trump administration will no longer produce anemic conservation project lists aimed at administratively slow-walking and undermining this vital program that has provided conservation investments in virtually every county in the U.S.
• Increased wildfire suppression funding consistent with the wildfire funding fix to help avoid the past practice of “fire-borrowing” that drastically shortchanged the regular functions of the US Forest Service.
• A $155 million increase for the National Park Service, and $66 million increase for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The package also contains a nearly $210 million increase to the EPA, and new climate, international and wildlife conservation funding.
• New and increased climate science, mitigation and resiliency funding for Native American communities and for the U.S. Geological Service.
• No new funding for the Bureau of Land Management’s ill-conceived proposed headquarters move. That has left dozens of families scrambling, either forced to move in a matter of months or leave their jobs. The bill instead includes hard requirements increasing transparency on the agency’s yet ill-defined remaining reorganization plans.

Among the disappointments:

• This year-end deal did not include full and dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
• Language to require complete a scientific study on protecting Minnesota’s pristine Boundary Waters Wilderness was removed to benefit a foreign mining company that is pushing for a dangerously toxic mine in this watershed. The omission is the result of White House interference in the negotiations. 

The Wilderness Society, founded in 1935, is the leading conservation organization working to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. With more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect 111 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands. www.wilderness.org.   

Contacts:  Michael Reinemer, 202-429-3949, michael_reinemer@tws.org.  Jonathan Asher, jonathan_asher@tws.org. 202-429-2693