Champion "wildlife caller" Ralph Duren voices howls of support for CARA. Hundreds of people gathered from all over the country to support H.R. 701. NWF President Mark Van Putten, VP Steve Shimberg, and senior scientist Doug Inkley await the presentation. House Resources Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) is one of the chief sponsors of CARA. Local children show their support for wildlife. Representative Don Young address the crowd. Mark Van Putten rubs elbows with fellow conservationists. Conservation groups throughout the country came to rally for CARA.

Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle joined grassroots conservation activists and wildlife professionals from across the nation in Washington, D.C., on March 1, 2000, in a celebratory rally at the front steps of the U. S. Capitol to demonstrate support for landmark conservation funding legislation that is gaining momentum in Congress.

"An historic wildlife and conservation victory is within our grasp this year in Congress," said Mark Van Putten, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, one of the rally's main organizers.

Van Putten lauded Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the Republican Chair of the House Resources Committee, for his role in crafting H.R. 701, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA). The legislation is aimed at targeting $2.8 billion in annual federal oil and gas leasing revenue to wildlife management, conservation, coastal protection, recreation and historic preservation initiatives, mainly at the state and local level.

"It is time for the Speaker of the House to schedule a vote on the most historic environmental legislation in a generation," Rep. George Miller told the crowd. Miller (D-CA), ranking minority member of the Resources Committee, helped forge the bipartisan alliance with Rep. Young that has resulted in overwhelming House support for the bill. "CARA redeems the promise to assure an environmental legacy for our children and their grandchildren," he said.

CARA already has 302 co-sponsors in the 435-member House, a bipartisan majority for major environmental legislation rarely seen in Congress since the 1970s. Sens. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) are expected to introduce companion legislation to H.R. 701 in the Senate soon. The Clinton Administration has offered its own conservation funding measure in its Lands Legacy Initiative. The concepts underlying CARA have been endorsed by virtually every state governor, and hundreds upon hundreds of local and regional conservation, recreation, sporting and civic organizations representing million of Americans in all 50 states.

"We urge Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) to heed the majority and bring the Conservation and Reinvestment Act to a vote," Van Putten said. "America's conservation future is at stake."

Van Putten noted the National Wildlife Federation supports improvements to CARA, including provisions to assure funding for nongame wildlife, prevent environmentally damaging use of coastal assistance funding, protect against new incentives for off-shore oil and gas drilling and eliminate unneeded restrictions on the use of federal Land and Water Conservation Fund investments.

One of CARA's strongest features is that it will provide reliable, long-term conservation investments each year through the year 2015. Under the bill, dedicated funding will be targeted to the following:

• $1 billion annually for environmental impact assistance and coastal conservation to 36 coastal states and territories, including the Great Lakes states.
  
• $900 million annually divided evenly between state and federal programs to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
  
• $350 million annually to the states for wildlife conservation and restoration.
  
• $125 million annually to the states for urban parks and recreation.
  
• $100 million annually for historic site preservation.
  
• $200 million annually for federal and Indian lands restoration.
  
• $150 million annually for conservation easements and endangered species recovery.
  
• $200 million annually for payments in lieu of taxes and refuge revenue sharing.

"The investment opportunities CARA presents are unprecedented in the annals of conservation legislation," Van Putten said. "With the proper improvements, this legislation will substantially enhance the states' ability to manage wildlife, including nongame species. It provides the resources needed to improve our state and national park, refuge and recreational lands. It can give communities the means to begin addressing the problems of urban sprawl and can provide the largest investment in environmental restoration for our coastal states in the nation's history."