A handful of powerful Congressmen and the Clinton Administration have created a last minute deal in the Interior Department Appropriations Bill (HR 4578) that could mean more short term funding for land protection and wildlife conservation programs, but only at the expense of the far superior Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA).

If you care about wildlife and wild places, tell Congress it's not good enough!

• Tell your Representative to stand by the CARA leadership.

• The HR 4578 plan is not a substitute for CARA.

• CARA guarantees long-term conservation funding. There is no guaranteed funding under HR 4578.

• It is unfair not to have a Senate vote on CARA that's already passed the House by a three-to-one majority and has the announced support of 63 Senators.

Big Promises Made – Will They Be Kept?

Title VIII of HR 4578 purports to provide $12 billion over six years for protection and restoration of habitat and recreation areas, with about $50 million a year going to states for efforts to benefit wildlife. But that funding would still have to be approved each and every year by Congressional budget appropriators; and they've proven to be anything but reliable. Previous budget set-asides for conservation have produced nothing but 30 years of broken promises from politicians and a tragic decline in America's natural heritage.

Not Enough to Do the Job for Wildlife:

While it sounds like a lot, the funding in this deal falls far short of CARA's 15 year guaranteed package. While CARA would assure states of $350 million annually for seriously underfunded wildlife protection and restoration efforts, the proposed deal would prove less than 15-percent of that amount and only if politicians kept their promises and released the money each year. The fate of nongame wildlife species especially would remain uncertain. Without adequate assured funding, states and communities cannot do the work that's necessary to maintain them and the healthy lands and waters that they and their human neighbors require.

A Better Solution:

CARA would get the job done. It is the culmination of a 14-year effort by the National Wildlife Federation that now includes over 5,000 businesses and non-profit organizations, governors, mayors and virtually all of our state natural resource agencies. This unprecedented coalition mobilized thousands of citizens in support of this historic legislation to use a small portion of the federal budget surplus to combat urban sprawl, conserve and restore wildlife habitat, save vanishing natural areas, revitalize urban parks and protect threatened historical sites. But a few powerful politicians oppose the measure because it threatens their power or the concerns of a few special interests. CARA deserves to be considered by the full Senate, not brushed aside in favor of a last-minute band-aid solution. The first step is to deluge your Representatives with the message that the DEAL DOESN'T CUT IT. . . AMERICA DESERVES CARA . . . STAND BY THE CARA LEADERSHIP.