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Search Terms: "Lands Legacy Initiative", House or Senate or Joint

Document 57 of 118.

MARCH 18, 1999, THURSDAY

SECTION: IN THE NEWS

LENGTH: 2449 words

HEADLINE: PREPARED STATEMENT OF
DAVID HAYES
COUNSELOR TO THE SECRETARY
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

BODY:

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the Department of the Interior regarding the Administration's Lands Legacy Initiative, and those aspects of the Livable Communities Initiative which Interior programs support. The Department of the Interior is a lead agency for the Lands Legacy initiative, which I will discuss in more detail below. Lead agencies for the Livability initiative are the Department of Transportation, HUD and EPA. Interior administers one program that is included in the Livability initiative and has other complementary efforts, and I will discuss those in my testimony as well. However, for a complete understanding of the Livability initiative, I refer the Committee to the written statements of Transportation and EPA that will be submitted for the record.
Administration's Lands Legacy Initiative
At the start of this century, President Theodore Roosevelt called on Americans to save the best of our natural endowment for all time. His legacy is seen all across America in National Parks, National Forests, and our National Wildlife Refuge System. President Clinton's Lands Legacy Initiative renews America's commitment to its natural environment. The initiative requests $1 billion, within a balanced budget, to expand federal protection of critical lands across America, helps states and communities preserve local green spaces, and strengthen protections for our oceans and coasts. The President also has committed to work with the Congress on legislation that would provide a permanent funding stream for these purposes of about $1 billion per year.
The initiative provides roughly equal funding for Federal and non- Federal conservation efforts, representing a 124 percent increase over FY 1999 funding. It includes $900 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which draws revenues from federal offshore oil leases.
The intention is to allow the federal government to work with the many others who care about our natural resources and greenspace to achieve the next stage in conservation in this country. This vision recognizes that different areas and communities need different kinds of tools to achieve their conservation goals. It also recognizes that federal land acquisition is a part, but only one part, of the nationwide effort at conservation. States, local communities, and Tribes must make decisions and receive the funding to achieve the goals that they themselves set.
Thus, the Administration proposes to provide a range of flexible tools to states, local communities, and Tribes to address their various open space needs. The initiative includes funds for federal land and water acquisition to protect our natural treasures, as well as funds to states, local governments, and Tribes for farmland protection, preservation of working forests, wildlife-habitat protection, urban and suburban greenways, and coastal environmental needs. Thus, in addition to the Department of the Interior funding discussed in more detail below, the Administration's budget requests additional funding for the Department of Agriculture's Farmland Protection, Forest Legacy, and Urban and Community Forestry programs, and NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries, Coastal Dredge Area restoration, and Fisheries Habitat Restoration.
Department of the Interior's FY 2000 Budget
The Department's FY 2000 request for Interior federal land acquisition will concentrate on five major areas, including the California Desert, Civil War Battlefields, the Lewis and Clark Trail, refuges in the Northern Forest, and the Everglades. A total of $295 million is requested for these and other priority federal land acquisition projects. Another major emphasis is on efforts to allow States and localities to continue to grow while conserving and recovering imperiled wildlife species. Eighty-million dollars is requested for States and local governments for habitat conservation planning, land acquisition, candidate conservation agreements, Safe Harbor Agreements, and other collaborative strategies. In America today there is a resurgent sense of the need to preserve open space and the quality of life of our communities. The Initiative includes $150 million for a competitive grants program that will assist States, local governments, and Tribes to preserve open space, and is an opportunity for us to establish new partnerships with these entities to enrich our cities, towns, and suburbs. This program could provide dramatic results by leveraging Federal funds with nonFederal resources. The proposal also calls for $50 million for grants to States to support open space planning. We expect to work with Congress in framing a viable program that will result in increased open spaces, green ways, and other areas for outdoor recreation, urban parks, wildlife habitat, and coastal wetlands.
$80 million is provided for the Cooperative Endangered Species Fund to support Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) development. These HCPs set aside undisturbed open space for habitat for endangered or threatened species and enable urban planners to take wildlife and open space considerations into account when planning for future development. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is developing HCPs in several urban areas, including San Diego, Tucson, and Sacramento. I would like to describe one example that I think illustrates how federal expertise teamed with local partners can yield a powerful planning tool that contributes significantly to the goals of the livability agenda.
San Diego County has a greater number of threatened and endangered species than anywhere in the continental United States. In March, Secretary Babbitt announced the San Diego Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Program (HCP) which aims to acquire and preserve about 172,000 acres of habitat over the next 50 years. This area is adjacent to the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge and is comprised of large blocks of interconnected habitat that would mitigate the impacts of continued urban development located mostly outside of the preserve boundaries. The plan emphasizes the protection and management of habitats rather than focusing preservation efforts on one species at a time. The HCP will allow 85 species (20 listed species and 65 unlisted species) to survive as the San Diego area continues to grow. About half of the acreage needed for the program is already publicly owned or destined for public ownership. Much of the rest is expected to be bought over the next years from willing sellers or deeded by landowners in exchange for development rights on other habitat lands. As part of this HCP, San Diego County can now approve developments in sensitive habitats as long as developers follow the HCP rules, which include compensation for such damage by preserving other habitat.
Administration's Lands Legacy Principles
Turning now to our proposal regarding the development of legislation to provide a permanent source of funding for the conservation of America's land resources, the Administration has developed the following Principles that will guide our work with Congress in developing legislation that will provide a lasting legacy for future generations of Americans.
These Principles are as follows:
- Legislation must create a permanent funding stream, within the context of a balanced budget, of at least $1 billion annually beginning in fiscal year 2001.
- Legislation should specify a generally equal allocation of funding between 1) federal land acquisition; and 2) funding for state, local, and tribal governments to acquire, protect, or restore open space, greenways, urban and community forests and parks, wildlife habitat, coastal wetlands, farmland protection and sustainable forests.
- Legislation should provide funding for various tools for state, local, and tribal communities to protect their open space and natural resources in the manner most appropriate to their area, including the ability to acquire less than fee simple interest in land. The range of tools and programs should be similar in scope to those proposed in the President's Budget for FY 2000.
- Legislation should protect wildlife by providing funding to support the health and diversity of habitat for at-risk and nongame species.
- Legislation should provide support for open space planning that is integrated with other planning, !and protection, and smart growth efforts. Funding to states and tribes for planning must encourage consideration of open space preservation, habitat protection, and the identification of appropriate corridors for growth.
- In recognition of the unique environmental needs of coastal states, legislation should include specific programs and partnerships designed to assist in coastal environmental protection, conservation, and restoration. The range of tools and programs should be similar in scope to those proposed in the President's Budget for FY 2000. This allocation must be equitable considering the national needs of all states, and should not preclude the coastal states from competing for the other general grants available to all states.
- Legislation must provide incentives for leveragiederal funding to state, local, and tribal governments to the maximum extent possible through matching funds, and partnerships with governmental or private, non-governmental entities including land trusts.
- The program established by the legislation should contain no incentive for additional offshore oil or gas exploration or development, which should continue to be governed solely by existing law and procedures.
Administration's Livability Agenda for the 21st Century
The Lands Legacy Initiative is complemented by a second Administration initiative, the Livability Agenda, that was launched by Vice President Gore in January, 1999. The Livability Agenda grew out of many of the same concerns as the Lands Legacy program -- the need to preserve open space and improve the quality of life in our communities. While these two programs complement each other, they differ in their focus: the Lands Legacy Program is primarily concerned with natural resource protection, while the Livability Agenda encompasses a broader array of issues that relate to quality of life, including transportation, safe streets and economic competitiveness. Through the Livability Agenda, the Administration aims to help communities across America grow in ways that ensure a high quality of life and strong, sustainable economic growth. This program provides a comprehensive array of resources and tools to support local organizations and agencies facing the challenges raised by rapid growth.
As part of the Livability Agenda, the Administration is also proposing a new program, the Community/Federal Information Partnership (CFIP), that would enhance existing technological capabilities and provide communities with greater access to planning information. A multiagency program, CFIP, will be coordinated by the Department of the Interior through the Federal Geographic Data Committee. The CFIP would make new informational tools, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, more readily available at the local level to help communities make more informed, collaborative decisions about regional growth. The program would provide matching grants to local agencies and organizations to build their capacity to use GIS technology. In addition, the program would improve public access to existing geographic information in Federal agencies. CFIP will put tools and resources in the hands of communities to make decisions that affect its citizen's quality of life with the best available information.
In addition to CFIP, the Department of the Interior has other existing programs that address many of the goals of the Livability Agenda. As the government's largest land management agency, the Interior Department has developed expertise through a number of its programs that can help communities maximize open space for wildlife and habitat protection as well as for recreational uses. The Interior Department also has substantial data collection and mapping expertise that, along with its other programs, can provide powerful tools to communities as they engage in planning decisions at the local level.
I would like to use this opportunity to highlight a few examples that I think illustrate how the Department of the Interior helps improve the quality of life for our citizens. The National Park Service has a variety of programs that assist local efforts to develop and maintain open space. NPS' Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program is designed to help local groups undertake conservation projects such as protecting rivers, developing trails and other recreational opportunities. Since its founding in 1988, the Rivers and Trails program has collaborated with over 1000 local groups to work on more than 700 conservation projects in all 50 states.
The Department of the Interior is also at the forefront of some of the country's most advanced data collection and mapping efforts designed to gather information on watersheds and developing urban areas. Data on water quality, watersheds, land use, geological features, natural hazards, and hazards mitigation are collected by the United States Geological Survey. This information is then made available to local communities via the Internet. These resources provide invaluable tools to local communities engaged in land use planning.
- USGS' Urban Dynamics Research Program uses geographic, topographic and land-use information to document land use change in many metropolitan areas. Urban dynamic information services serves as an important tool for city and county planners, regulators and developers in understanding the influence of roads, highways, and industry on urbanization. USGS has provided data and mapping information on urban growth patterns to local and regional agencies in the San Francisco- Sacramento and Baltimore- Washington areas. Work on other metropolitan areas is currently underway.
These programs and many others within the Department bring technical and in some cases direct financial assistance to local organizations and agencies that are engaged in local planning and open space protection activities.
In addition, many of the other agencies' Lands Legacy programs compliment the Livability Agenda, including USDA's Forest Legacy, Urban and Community Forestry, Farmland protection and Smart Growth Partnership programs, and NOAA's coastal zone, fisheries, and estuarine reserve programs.
This concludes my statement and I would be happy to answer your questions.
END

LOAD-DATE: March 19, 1999

Document 57 of 118.


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