Having already passed in the House by a vote of 315 to 102, Congress opens its final session with conservation funding legislation (CARA) that is poised for passage in the Senate. If CARA passes the Senate, our natural spaces will receive funding to ensure their natural beauty will be around for generations to come. Your help is now needed to enact this historic bill.

The Source of CARA Funding

All CARA funding will come from a portion of the $4 billion to $5 billion in annual lease fees the U.S. Treasury receives for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas drilling. In 1965 in creating the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Congress established the principle that revenue earned from the exploitation of a non-renewable resource (oil and gas) should be devoted to natural resource investments across the nation. CARA will put the principle into practice.

CARA's Conservation Investments

CARA will provide nearly $3 billion each year for the next 15 years for a variety of conservation purposes. The majority of the funds will flow directly to the states, cities and Tribal governments. All federal land purchases under CARA must be from willing sellers, unless Congress acts otherwise, and must be approved by Congress each year.

The major categories of CARA funding provided by House/Senate versions of the bill include:

• $350 million to the states for wildlife conservation, recreation and education.

• $900 million full annual funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, to be divided equally between state and federal projects.

• $1 billion/$825 million to coastal states, including Great Lakes States, for coastal conservation and environmental restoration.

• $125 million to local governments for urban parks and recreation.

• $100 million/$150 million for historic preservation.

• $200 million/$125 million to maintain and restore federal and Tribal lands.

• $150 million/$100 million for conservation easements, and (House bill) endangered species.

• $196 million (interest estimate)/$325 million (full funding) for revenue to the states from the federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes program.