As Congress works to wrap up its year-end business, it is important that lawmakers not overlook a modest program that has had an outsized impact on our communities and environment.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund was established 50 years ago in order to preserve our nation’s natural resources, waterways, and cultural heritage. Iconic national parks like Rocky Mountain and Grand Canyon, as well as national wildlife refuges and community parks in every state, have benefitted from the fund.
Unfortunately, Congress let authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund lapse earlier this year. As a result, a five-decade-old promise to provide healthy lands and waters for the American people is at risk.
In our region, Independence National Historic Park, the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Valley Forge National Historic Park, and Brandywine Battlefield have received much-needed financial support from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. So have countless local parks, playgrounds, and trails.
Monies for the Land and Water Conservation Fund come not from taxpayers but from royalties paid for offshore oil and gas exploration. It’s a wonderfully logical idea – use proceeds from the depletion of one natural resource to invest in the preservation of others. What’s more, grants from the Land and Water Conservation Fund leverage substantial support from other public and private entities.
Earlier this year, Natural Lands Trust celebrated with local, state, and federal officials the conservation of Gibraltar Hill in southern Berks County as an important addition to Pennsylvania’s state forest system. This conservation success was made possible in part by Highlands Conservation Act funding provided through the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Gibraltar Hill represents a significant new recreational asset for residents of our region and will help to inspire other landowners to pursue ecologically sound forest management.
Bills are pending in Congress to permanently reauthorize and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, with strong support from many of our region’s representatives in Washington. There are some in Congress who are seeking to make significant changes to the fund, but a majority of voices from both sides of the aisle agree that, at its core, the fund should be re-instated. The Land and Water Conservation Fund has made sound conservation investments for decades. Let’s not be the generation that walks away from protecting America’s heritage and future.
Molly K. Morrison
President of Natural Lands Trust
