The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provides critical funding for California’s open spaces, parks, rivers, and wildlife habitats. Unfortunately, this vital program is set to expire at the end of September. Without congressional reauthorization, up to $900 million in annual spending for our environment and local communities will be lost. In a year of headlines dominated by the rollback of essential environmental policies, the LWCF is a program that demands fierce protection.
LWCF has enjoyed bipartisan support since its establishment in 1964. The idea is simple: LWCF uses revenues from the depletion of one natural resource��”outer continental shelf oil and gas��”to support the conservation of another precious resource, our land and water. However, funding for LWCF sunsets on Sept. 30 if Congress does not reauthorize the program.
At the National Heritage Institute (NHI), we are committed to restoring and preserving natural functions in major river basins to maintain their water-dependent ecosystems and the services they provide in sustaining and enriching human life.
Our mission is inextricably linked to LWCF, which for more than five decades has provided grants to create nature preserves, restore habitats, and build parks and recreational spaces for families to enjoy.
Let’s take a look at how LWCF has provided critical support in California through the lens of river stewardship:
The Tuolumne River Regional Park in Modesto is one recent project that received half a million dollars in 2015 to construct trailways, a pedestrian bridge, and fishing. Shortly before that, LWCF funds were also used for the acquisition of approximately 230 acres of open space and native habitat within the Santa Maria riverbed for the creation of a self-guided, interpretive trail system.
This is only a small taste of the benefits from LWCF, which has proven to be an unquestionable success. And while our divided politics make it difficult to agree on many issues, both sides of the aisle can surely see that LWCF is worth preserving. Congress should once and for all support this profound investment in our natural resources, environment, and communities before time runs out.
This article appears in Sep 20-27, 2018.