October 27, 2000

Congress Completes Work On Conservation Funding By Strengthening State Wildlife Investments In Response to Grassroots Demand

Responding to grassroots demand before adjournment, the 106th Congress approved enhanced funding for state wildlife conservation but failed to enact the guaranteed long-term conservation investments that would have been provided by the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), despite overwhelming support among individual legislators and an unprecedented constituency of local groups and conservation organizations across the country.

"We got as much as we did only through the dedication and hard work of the citizens who demanded that their representatives provide for the future of America's natural heritage," said NWF President Mark Van Putten. "Now we're letting them know that the job isn't done yet."

As Congress completed work, a one-year $50 million appropriation for state wildlife agencies, to be equitably distributed among the states, was included in Commerce, Justice, State appropriation bill.

This additional funding came in direct response to grassroots demand.

However, President Clinton has threatened to veto the bill over issues not related to wildlife funding.

The agreement reached on the Commerce bill, combined with the Lands Legacy Trust measures passed earlier in the session constitute what Congress substituted for CARA. In May, CARA was overwhelmingly passed by the House but was never brought to a vote in the full Senate.

"Let no one doubt that the reason wildlife funding for the states has come this far is due to the grassroots demand for it after the states were shortchanged in the Lands Trust measure and CARA was pushed aside in the Senate," Van Putten said. "We didn't give up. We kept fighting. The grassroots response to Congress for wildlife funding has been tremendous. We haven't won everything we set out for in CARA, but we've made an important stride forward."

CARA would have guaranteed nearly $3 billion annually for the next 15 years for conservation investments, including $350 million each year for wildlife conservation at the state level.

"We've supported CARA because our goal will always be long-term, reliable funding to invest in this nation's conservation priorities," Van Putten said.

"What we achieved this year is only the beginning," said Jodi Applegate, Conservation Funding project coordinator. "We have established an important precedent for wildlife funding to be equitably distributed among the states. We couldn't have done it without grassroots support. We will continue the fight to build on this precedent to achieve the goal of substantial and guaranteed funding to protect and restore America's natural heritage."

CARA was the culmination of a 14-year public process that organizations like NWF have been involved in every step of the way. It earned the support of all 50 state governors, and more than 5,000 conservation, civic, business and religious organizations. After numerous public hearings, CARA passed the House of Representatives by a 315 to102 bipartisan majority in May. After more hearings, the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee approved a companion version of CARA that was endorsed by 63 members of the Senate and both the Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader.

Both the Lands Trust and Commerce bill funding measures were written over several days, behind closed doors, by congressional appropriators.

Taken together, the measures constitute a $1.67 billion conservation appropriation for this year, with authorization to consider additional funding of $10.4 billion in the succeeding five years.

"These new appropriations can serve excellent conservation goals," Van Putten said. "But we see this legislation as a foundation on which to build toward the guaranteed investments, especially at the state level, that are essential to our nation's conservation future."