As a professional community planner and director of a statewide land conservation organization, I understand the vital role our lands and waters play in keeping our communities and economies safe and strong. Every day, I see how our communities and state image rely on West Virginia's scenic beauty and natural resources to promote what is so great about living, working and playing here.

The question is, will our elected leaders in Washington vote to protect funding to ensure our land and water will continue to help to keep our communities and economies safe and strong? This month, as the U.S. House of Representatives considers the FY2012 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill, West Virginia's Representatives McKinley, Capito, and Rahall have an opportunity to stand up for our lands and waters. In this bill, the House has cut Land and Water Conservation Fund to just $61.8 million -- the lowest level in its 45 year history. Our representatives should reject this disproportionate cut.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is the principal funding source for conservation of West Virginia's most spectacular places -- those lands and waters in and around the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Monongahela National Forest, and New River Gorge National River. These lands and waters provide vital services to us every day -- clean drinking water; public access for hunting, fishing, and recreation; support of the agricultural, forestry, recreation, and tourism industries; protection of wildlife habitat; conservation of our natural heritage for our children and grandchildren.

 Conservation programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund should shoulder their fair share of the budget cuts, but the Federal budget cannot and should not be balanced on the back of programs that help to protect the vital services that healthy lands and waters provide for all Americans. Federal spending on land, water and wildlife programs comprises only about 1 percent of the total Federal budget and is clearly not the cause of the nation's budget instability, nor will making further cuts to these programs solve the deficit crisis. Investment in conservation benefits all Americans and is imperative to the health of our air, water, lands, economy and way of life.

Terrell Ellis

West Virginia Land Trust

Charleston