The expansion of Congaree National Park would be put on hold if budget cuts initially approved by the U.S. House make it through the Senate.
The House last month slashed Interior Department funding for conservation and environmental programs, including the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Among the cuts were what local officials hoped would be the final $1.4 million payment on the Riverstone tract at Congaree National Park.
That land, owned by the Trust for Public Land, isn’t in imminent danger of falling to developers or loggers. But a delay in buying this crucial piece would push back the timeline for opening the southern end of the park to the public, said John Grego, president of Friends of Congaree Swamp.
“It would represent an unneeded delay,” Grego said. “In terms of public access, there’s not going to be a payoff until we get this last piece.”
Conservation leaders are calling for the Senate to restore at least some of the funds for land conservation. The Land and Water Conservation Fund was set up 45 years ago to use a portion of fees collected for offshore drilling rights and motor boat fuel tax to pay for land conservation.
That consistent funding source has allowed conservation groups to develop long-term strategies to protect land. The Congaree National Park addition was only one of several planned land deals to be financed through the Land and Water Conservation Fund this year. Among the others were $2.1 million for land near the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, $1.1 million for land along the Savannah River and $500,000 for land next to Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.
The Interior Department approved expansion of Congaree National Park’s boundary in Richland County in 2003. The Trust for Public Land bought the Riverstone tract for $5.6 million in 2007, planning to hold it as Congress allocated money for the land in increments. After a $1.32 million allocation in the federal budget last year, only about $1.4 million remains to be paid to the Trust for Public Land.
Portions of the 1,840-acre tract already have been turned over to the National Park Service. The remaining 433 acres owned by the Trust for Public Land include the causeway road that will make easy public access possible off U.S. 601. Park officials have talked about allowing vehicles down a portion of the road, which runs all the way to the Congaree River.
The Riverstone tract includes a short section of river frontage, lots of mixed forest land and a swampy section with a few massive cypress trees. When the full tract is brought into the park, the park would grow to about 26,500 acres. It also would connect the park with neighboring Manchester State Forest and the Upper Santee Swamp wetlands managed by Santee Cooper, creating nearly 30 miles of river corridor protected from development.
