Copyright 2000 Star Tribune
Star Tribune
(Minneapolis, MN)
September 26, 2000, Tuesday, Metro Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 11A
LENGTH: 455 words
HEADLINE:
Conservation bill backers say time is running out
BYLINE: Andrew Donohue; Staff Writer
DATELINE: Washington, D.C.
BODY:
As Congress heads for adjournment next month,
supporters of a bill that would bring $37 million a year to
Minnesota for parks programs, wildlife protection and land
conservation fear that time is running out to get the
legislation passed.
"Now is the time to do this," said
Ron Payer, fisheries director of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources,
one of three department officials who came to Washington last week to lobby for
the bill.
Supporters say it's the most important piece
of environmental legislation pending before Congress. But some Western
legislators and private property groups warn of a federal land-grab, and budget
hawks are wary of its hefty $3 billion annual price tag.
The Conservation and Reinvestment Act
is struggling to get to the Senate floor as spending bills grab most of the
attention in the final weeks of the 106th Congress.
The legislation, which the House passed 315 to 102 in
May, would renew and expand a 1964 congressional commitment that used federal
revenue from offshore oil leases to buy land for national and state parks and
other environmental programs. Supporters had said it would give
$900 million a year to the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, but funding has dwindled to
$2 million this year.
To boost
funding, the legislation would allocate $45 billion of the oil
lease revenues over the next 15 years to a spectrum of environmental and
conservation causes, from wetlands protection to urban
educational programs.
Sen. Rod Grams, R-Minn., said he
supports the bill's goals, but he wants to make sure hunting and fishing rights
aren't infringed upon. He said he's also concerned about land-purchasing
issues. And he said that there currently is no oversight
in the bill on how the money will be spent _ something that needs to be worked
out before he can support it.
Among the bill's
supporters are President Clinton, who last week led a push for its passage in
the Senate, and the governors of all 50 states. A letter signed by 63 senators,
including Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., also has been sent to Majority Leader
Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Minority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., urging them to
bring the bill to the floor.
But there's a glaring
omission on the list of supporters: the Sierra Club. Dana Wolfe, a Sierra Club
land-protection representative, said supporters have the right idea, but the
group opposes the measure because it provides incentives for states such as
Alaska to allow more offshore drilling and it contains language that would allow
funding of projects that could hurt the environment.
.
Andrew
Donohue can be contacted at intern@mcclatchydc.com
LOAD-DATE: September 27, 2000
