| For Immediate Release | |
| September 8, 1999 | |
| Contact: | Joan Moody 202-682-9400 x220 (Media) |
| Mary Beth Beetham 202-682-9400 x231 (Program) | |
| Kim Delfino & Liz Hitchcock, U.S. PIRG 202-546-9707 |
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New Report Profiles Parks, Wilderness and Wildlife That Could Be Protected If Congress and the Clinton Administration Enact Strong Conservation Funding Legislation
(U.S. PIRG) * DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE * SIERRA CLUB CENTER FOR MARINE CONSERVATION TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND * WORLD WILDLIFE FUND * SCENIC AMERICA * ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND * NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL * NATIONAL PARKS AND CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION * THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION More than 40 special places in 19 states could be
protected if Congress passes strong conservation funding legislation
according to "Saving America's Geography of Hope: Why Congress Must
Protect Our Land and Ocean Legacy," a report released today by U.S.
PIRG, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Center for Marine
Conservation, Trust for Public Land, World Wildlife Fund, Scenic
America, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council,
National Parks and Conservation Association, The Wilderness Society and
The National Trust for Historic Preservation.
This report illustrates the kinds of places that could be protected
if strong conservation funding legislation became a reality.
"Millions of acres of America's natural heritage have been
degraded, destroyed and developed. All across the country, historic
structures are in disrepair, parks are closing, farmland and open space
are disappearing, and wildlife is declining. We must protect these wild
and special places," declared Kim Delfino, U.S. PIRG staff attorney and
editor of the report. "With Congress returning for the conclusion of the
session, there is an opportunity to pass a strong conservation funding
bill. This opportunity will be lost if some members of Congress are
successful in attaching environmentally damaging provisions, or 'poison
pills,' to the final legislation," added Delfino.
"This report shows that the opportunity before this Congress to
protect some of America's greatest natural and cultural treasures is
nothing short of historic," says Rodger Schlickeisen, President of
Defenders of Wildlife and chair of the conservation CEO task force on
conservation funding. "For the first time in decades, we have a
situation that presents both a budget surplus and a growing bipartisan
belief that we should use some of this money to protect our land and
wildlife. The test, however, of the legislation's success will be
whether it provides permanent full funding for conservation without
encouraging environmental destruction. Will it provide a lasting legacy
or a greenwashing that fades away?"
Congress is currently considering several different versions of
conservation legislation to fund a variety of programs benefiting our
national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, historic sites, coastal and
marine ecosystems, and wildlife. The two main proposals are the
Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) of 1999 (S.25/H.R. 701),
introduced by Senators Frank Murkowski (AK) and Mary Landrieu (LA) and
Representatives Don Young (AK) and Billy Tauzin (LA), and Permanent
Protection for America's Resources 2000 (Resources 2000 - S.446/H.R.
798), introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (CA) and Representative George
Miller (CA).
"All too often, land conservation is about protecting the
'leftovers' after the best of our landscapes are already gone. But
across the country people are working to get ahead of the curve, to give
our park lands a decent head-start - and to make the right investments
in our future," said Will Rogers, president for the Trust for Public
Land.
"Strong conservation funding legislation could provide a
critically important source of funding for the nation's most important
historic preservation programs," said Kitty Higgins, vice president of
public policy for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
"Comprehensive battlefield protection at Gettysburg could be established
and significant acreage at the Glorieta Pass Battle site in New Mexico
could be acquired if a strong bill is enacted. Without it, some of the
country's most cherished cultural and historic treasures could be
seriously damaged or lost forever," added Higgins.
Other places profiled in this report include California's Channel
Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the Big Sur coastline, Colorado's
San Juan Mountains, Iowa's Loess Hills, the New Jersey Highlands,
Maryland's Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, New Hampshire's White
Mountains, North Carolina's Outer Banks, and Florida's Everglades.
"With this legislation, Congress can bestow a timeless millenium
gift on America: a commitment to protect our nation's scenic beauty and
distinctive community character for generations to come," said Meg
Maguire, president of Scenic America.
This legislation is threatened, however, by the attempts of members
of Congress to attach poison pills to the final legislation. These
poison pills, many of which are found in the introduced version of CARA,
include incentives for increased offshore oil and gas drilling, the use
of coastal funds for environmentally destructive activities, and new
restrictions on federal land acquisition already authorized by law.
"Congress should provide permanent funding for the protection of
our living marine resources and coastal waters using a portion of
offshore oil and gas revenues, without adding incentives for new
offshore drilling or subsidizing harmful coastal development," said
Roger McManus, president of the Center for Marine Conservation. "We look
forward to a final bill that invests in our public lands without adding
unnecessary delays and obstacles to the process, and without promoting
offsetting environmental degradation," added Will Rogers, Trust for
Public Land.
The House Resources Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee are expected to vote on a conservation funding
proposal this month. The Clinton Administration has indicated strong
support for permanent conservation funding, which will be important as
this bill is further negotiated throughout the legislative process.
"From elk hunters to soccer moms, preserving park land and open
space is recognized as essential to enjoying a better quality of life.
It is time Congress understood that need too," said Tom Kiernan,
president of the National Parks and Conservation Association.
"Congress must respond to the demands of the American people. In
scores of local elections last November, citizens voted overwhelmingly
to protect and restore our last open spaces and wild places. Congress
ignores these citizen mandates for wildlands protection at their own
peril," concluded Melanie Griffin, Sierra Club Director of Land
Protection Programs.
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