DailyKos often bashes moderate Senate Democrats, but they deserve praise when praise is due. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has introduced a bill needing support. S. 2747 will amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to "provide consistent and reliable authority for, and for the funding of, the land and water conservation fund to maximize the effectiveness of the fund for future generations" -- or, shorter, to give the National Park Service, deserving state parklands, and equally deserving soccer fields the money that they're supposed to have. High freakin' time!
Welcome to Hike On!, my more-or-less weekly series devoted to national parks, outdoor adventures, and related issues, with (of course) a political spin. Bring your shiny new Christmas presents (look at what I got!), take a mental health break from a pesky little matter, and post pix of your latest snowshoe hike.
A few weeks ago, I attended a Mountains Restoration Trust fundraiser for Cold Creek Preserve, located in the Santa Monica Mountains due north of Malibu. Cold Creek, a major upland tributary of Malibu Creek, has not yet been invaded by mosquitofish, bullfrogs, and crawdads, all non-native species. The MRT needs $600K more to purchase a few parcels of land in the heart of Cold Creek, so Jared Diamond (author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse) was brought in to talk with us about the importance of biodiversity and, by the way, please donate a bit to help the MRT reach its goal, because land is expensive in the hills above Malibu. The last acquisition was in 2008, when the Land and Water Conservation Fund gave $136,097 for Cold Creek's High Trail.
The federal Land and Water Conservation Fund was established in 1964 to provide monies and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and easements on land and water, for the benefit of all Americans, specifically recreation and the protection of natural treasures in the forms of parks and protected forest and wildlife areas. It's funded by oil drilling revenues, and it provides up to $900M/year for worthy projects, as Congress sees fit to appropriate. The key phrase in the previous sentence has been highlighted for reasons that should shortly become obvious. Past projects have included parks as big as Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks and as small as thousands of local playgrounds, soccer fields, and baseball diamonds.
In 2008, Congress actually appropriated, not $900M, but $37M in funds for the LWCF to dole out. Note that $37M is much less than $900M. In 2009, Congress allocated $300M to the LCWF to use in funding projects -- said to be its greatest allocation in many years (and proof that elections have consequences). Note that $300M is still less than $900M. In fact, the LWCF has only gotten its full $900M only once or twice since 1965.
Enter Senator Bingaman. S. 2747 is very simple, but it can be summed up even more simply: "The LWCF gets up to its full $900M/year," split equally between federal and state/local projects. Senator Bingaman's press release fleshes it out a little better:
Protecting special places and landscapes for the common good has always been a great American idea that we have exported to the rest of the world. By protecting natural systems, we’re protecting human health as well as the economy by providing clean water, clean air, livable coastal areas and the quality of life that is so important to all Americans.
Hurray! Senators debate larger and polarizing issues, but it's worth applauding action that they take on what should be less controversial, under-the-radar issues. The bill has been referred to the National Parks subcommittee of the Energy & Natural Resources committee. Thank you, Senator Bingaman! Thank you, original cosponsor Senator Baucus! Thank you, cosponsors Senators Tom Udall, Mark Udall, Schumer, and Tester! The National Parks Conservation Association applauds the bill. As do I. I'd like to see a few tweaks; specifically, indexing $900M/year (a sum set in 1965) to inflation, and ensuring a stable source of revenue other than oil drilling as we move away from dependence on fossil fuels. And I'd like to see the bill passed. Much as I enjoyed listening to Jared Diamond, places like Cold Creek shouldn't need to hold bake sales to protect unique habitat.