|
|
|
|
 
"The Land and Water Conservation Fund protects special places that people want to visit, like the Skagit River here in Washington. We make a living helping people experience these places. And visitors benefit local economies. I support full funding for the LWCF for the sake of rural communities, the tourists they draw and the nature around them."
- Rod Amundson
Owner,
Wildwater River Tours, Inc.
|
- March 8, 2012 Coalition Applauds Senate for Dedicated Conservation Funding
- February 13, 2012 Coalition Applauds President's Continued Support for Conservation Funding
- December 17, 2011 Conservation, Business and Sportsmen Groups Applaud Congressional Efforts to Protect LWCF Funding in FY12 Budget
- July 25, 2011- New Bipartisan Poll Shows Overwhelming Support Across America for Land and Water Conservation Fund
- July 13, 2011- National Bipartisan Poll Memo
- May 31, 2011- Over One-Third of the U.S. House of Representatives Sign Letter Supporting Funding for LWCF
- April 14, 2011- Conrad Anchor Testimony Release
- December 20, 2010 - Senate Urged to Join House and Pass Bill with Full Funding for Conservation Program »
- August 3, 2010 - Senate Urged to Join House and Pass Bill with Full Funding for Conservation Program »
- July 15, 2010 - House Committee Passes Bill Securing Funding for Conservation and Recreation Program »
- April 16, 2010 - America's Great Outdoors Conference Focuses on Need for Vital Land, Recreation Funding »
- February 1, 2010 - Obama's Budget Includes Key Funding for Land & Water »
- November 6, 2009 - Senate Bill Would Fulfill Longstanding Promise for Conservation and Recreation Program »
- September 17 , 2009 - Coalition Supports Conservation at House Hearing »
House-Passed Bill Would Slash Funding For Columbia Bottomlands Forest
|
March 1, 2011
by: Wendy Siegle
Just over a week ago, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution bill that would keep federal programs funded for the rest of the fiscal year. It's now being taking up by the Senate. The bill includes drastic cuts to environmental programs across the county. Wendy Siegle reports on what it would mean for the Columbia Bottomlands Forest here in southeast Texas.
listen now: Land and Water Conservation Fund (1 min 30 seconds)
The House-passed bill would slash more than $60 billion dollars from the federal budget and would include deep cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Money from the fund is used to buy up and preserve land for national parks, forests, and wildlife areas. If the bill is enacted, the program’s budget would be reduced by 90 percent. Brandt Mannchen is with the Sierra Club.
“This would not just be for Texas, but would be everywhere across the U.S. where we’re trying to buy important ecological, and biological, and scenic, and historic lands to add to our parks, national forest, and wildlife refuges.”
President Obama’s budget request sets aside $900 million dollars for the fund, $4 million of which would go to projects in the Columbia Bottomlands forest of San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, just over an hour south of Houston.
“As far as I’m concerned it’s really the only significant coastal forest that we have. I mean, this forest comes within just a few miles of the Gulf of Mexico.”
Mannchen says the House bill would stop the funding and put those land acquisition projects in jeopardy.
“We’re concerned that this may begin a trend of no funding and ultimately lead to the fund being dry. Without these funds you can’t protect these areas and basically the critters and the habitat disappear.”
The current continuing resolution bill expires on Friday. Congress is currently discussing a short-term spending measure to avoid a government shutdown. That’ll give the Senate more time to negotiate the long-term continuing resolution bill.
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2012 Land and Water Conservation Fund All Rights Reserved.
The Open Space Institute, Inc. has provided funding for this website
|
