Dem senators push to extend conservation fund

A group of Democratic senators is pushing to renew a conservation program and a funding stream for communities with federal land. 

The Democrats, led by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), wrote a letter to the ranking members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week suggesting the panel tie together the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the federal land funding program and pass them together before the LWCF expires at the end of September. 

{mosads}“The Land and Water Conservation Fund is in urgent need of a legislative solution that renews the program in its current form and reverses the annual diversion of the program’s authorized funding from its intended conservation purposes,” the senators wrote. 

The LWCF tends to attract some bipartisan support, but it’s due to expire at the end of the fiscal year in September. The fund uses revenue from offshore oil and natural gas drilling to support parks, wildlife habitats and other conservation programs around the country, though Congress has always authorized less annual spending than the $900 million fund is actually worth.

That, combined with the Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, which provides federal funds to local governments that have large swaths of non-taxable federal land, “work in tandem to support our local communities by securing the permanent protection of critical lands and access to outdoor recreation” the letter said.  

Congress last funded PILT through December’s budget deal, and the letter noted that members have found ways to fund other programs important to rural areas in recent years. The Democrats on the letter said the two programs should pass together, and vowed to oppose efforts to authorize and fund PILT but not the LWCF.

“Many communities and businesses rely heavily on the LWCF to invest in the conservation, recreation and historic preservation legacy that is central to the economic well-being and quality of life in our states,” the senators wrote.

“We believe the most successful solution is to reauthorize the LWCF and PILT programs at the same time. “