Wildlife & Communities Deserve Priority Funding
by U.S. Rep. Don Young
Guest Editorial
Roll Call
Monday, April 10, 2000,
Editorial Policy Briefing, Page 7

When was the last time you saw a major conservation, wildlife and recreation package that had widespread bipartisan support with more than 320 cosponsors? Then add 49 of the nation's governors and the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National Association of Counties to this list of supporters. And then include organizations as diverse as the U.S. Chamber of Congress and National Association of Realtors with the Wilderness Society and World Wildlife Fund as supporters.

The legislation that has brought this diverse coalition together is the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) - H.R.701 - which will share federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues with coastal states and support national conservation and wildlife education programs in all 50 states. The reason you see such broad support is because this bill has wide reaching benefits throughout the nation. Local communities and states will be able to decide how they spend conservation and recreation funds. New funding will be provided for conservation and wildlife programs.

Currently, OCS revenues - about $4 to $5 billion annually - go directly to the federal treasury to be spent at the whim of Congressional appropriators and the Administration. However, under the new formula in CARA, $2.8 billion per year would be designated for conservation, wildlife, recreation and historic preservation programs which has traditionally been underfunded by Congress and the Administration.

This use of these funds under CARA represents a serious commitment to our nation's future.

CARA will provide direct funding to coastal states through coastal impact assistance. It also provides funding for land-based conservation. By funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and urban parks programs, revenue is provided for projects ranging from ball fields to state and federal parks. CARA also provides funds for wildlife conservation.

As David Waller, Vice President of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, stated: "This could be the most comprehensive piece of conservation legislation in our lifetime."

CARA is the product of bipartisan negotiations and compromises. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee, has worked closely with myself and Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), John Dingell (D-MI), Chris John (D-LA) and others to establish the most comprehensive conservation bill in decades.

There are, however, opponents to CARA. Some national environmental organizations are opposing CARA because they claim it provides incentives for increased OCS activity. This is not true.

On the other side, some private property rights organizations allege CARA violates property rights and will lead to widespread loss of private lands. This is not only a gross exaggeration, it is false.

Under the compromise legislation negotiated by Rep. Miller, the cosponsors of our bills and myself, CARA now includes the following funding formula:

Title I provides $1 billion each year to create a revenue sharing and coastal conservation fund for coastal states and eligible local governments to mitigate the various impacts of OCS activities and provide funds for the conservation of coastal ecosystems. Several provisions ensure that the valuable funding provided by this title does not prove to be an incentive for additional oil and gas drilling, especially in areas subject to a pre-leasing, leasing, or development moratorium. The intent of this legislation is to provide for conservation and recreational opportunities, and the authors and supporters deliver on that pledge.

Title II provides $900 million to guarantee stable and annual funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at its authorized level. This dedicated funding would provide for both the state and federal programs included in the LWCF, while protecting the rights of private property owners.

Title III provides $350 million for wildlife conservation and education. This title, crafted by Congressman Dingell and myself, uses the successful mechanism within the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act - commonly known as Pittman-Robertson. The new source of funding will nearly double the historic contribution made by sportsmen through Federal funds available by Pittman-Robertson and the Federal Aid in Sportfish Restoration Act -commonly known as Dingell-Johnson. Since 1937, these programs have contributed more than $5 billion, matched by the states, to benefit wildlife and fish.

Title IV provides $125 million to be used for matching grants for local governments to rehabilitate recreation areas and facilities, and provide for the development of improved recreation programs, sites and facilities.

Title V provides $100 million for the programs within the Historic Preservation Act, including grants to the States, maintaining the National Register of Historic Places, and administering numerous historic preservation programs, including support for Congressionally authorized Heritage areas and corridors.

Title VI provides $200 million for a coordinated program on Federal and Indian lands to restore degraded lands, protect resources that are threatened with degradation, and protect public health and safety.

Title VII provides $150 million for annual and dedicated funding for conservation easements and funding for landowner incentives to aid in the recovery of endangered and threatened species.

The bipartisan support for CARA is a strong indication of its wide ranging benefits across the nation. Not only do the cosponsors range in political ideology but they are also widely distributed in geography. CARA has Congressional supporters ranging from Alaska to Rhode Island and from California to Florida. Cosponsors range from urban Members like Charles Rangel of Manhattan and Edolphus Townes of Brooklyn, to Members from very rural districts like Collin Peterson of northern Minnesota and Congressman Wes Watkins of southeastern Oklahoma.

When the National Association of Counties (NACo) announced its endorsement of our legislation, county leaders termed the legislation as "a pro-environment, pro-community bill that will meet the future needs of the nation's urban, suburban and rural counties."

We currently face a unique budgetary climate here in the Congress and are looking to reinvest funds which should have been going to the purposes within CARA for decades. I hope this landmark legislation will create a lasting heritage for American conservation.

(U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, is the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Resources, which has jurisdiction over national parks and federal lands, fisheries and wildlife, energy and mineral resources, and forest issues.)

For more information, please check the House Committee on Resources Home Page at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/

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