The U.S. House is expected to pass a huge public lands bill next week that contains three bills authored by our own Representative Paul Cook of Yucca Valley. The Natural Resources Management Act would greatly expand recreation opportunities on public lands in California and across the nation. Managing editor Tami Roleff has more about an important element in this bill…
If you’ve ever fished off a pier, swum in a public pool, played ball on a local field or hiked in a state park, you’ve likely benefited from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. That program could be permanently reauthorized next week as part of a massive public lands package before the U.S. House. The Natural Resources Management Act would expand Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks, and add new off-road vehicle recreation areas in San Bernardino County, among other projects. J-R Young, with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, says the fund has touched every corner of the state since its inception in 1964.
“There’s not a county in California that has not benefited from a Land and Water Conservation project. The list is massive. It’s just one of those critical core funding components that unfortunately not a lot of people know about.”
Over the years, the fund has directed $2.4 billion dollars to projects at places up and down the state. The fund uses no taxpayer dollars – only revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters.
Maite Arce with the Hispanic Access Foundation says the thousands of local parks helped by the Land and Water Conservation Fund are especially important to urban low-income communities–so it is important to fully fund it going forward.
“It’s only been fully funded at its annual $900 million cap twice in 54 years. So, on average, Congress authorizes Land and Water Conservation Fund to receive only about 46 percent of its allowed amount.”
Its backers say the public-lands package also would greatly benefit California’s $92 billion outdoor recreation industry. It passed the Senate last week by an overwhelming margin of 92 to 8.
