$30 million for state side Land and Water Conservation Fund

NRPA Advocates Save LWCF, Bill Awaits Presidents Signature

The House and Senate voted by overwhelming margins to pass the Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 2361). The bill that will be sent to the President on July 29, 2005, includes $30 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) state assistance program, a major victory for parks and recreation advocates in light of the President's recommendation to terminate the program in his proposed budget for 2006. The bill also includes $115 million for the federal side of LWCF.

The final approval of the $26.3 billion Interior budget came on votes of 410-10 in the House and 99 to 1 in the Senate. The $30 million for LWCF was approved after intense conference committee deliberations between Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman, Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC).

Advocates for parks and recreation at the local, regional, and state level across the country, led by NRPA and its state affiliates, swung into action. Call after call poured into Congress. Key members of the Appropriations Committees in the House and the Senate heard from constituents just how important this far-reaching program was to small towns, communities, and states. When the Senate voted to approve a recommendation for $30 million for LWCF state assistance in the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee report, advocates were heartened, but it still was a desperate fight to keep the program from the brink of termination.

The House and Senate acted with surprising determination to move the Interior Appropriations bill to the floor— the earliest it has been reported to the President in nearly a decade. The swift action to move this bill made the stakes even higher. In the final weeks before the House-Senate conference, a ground swell of grassroots advocacy from the states of every conferee and key leadership posts reached the members of Congress. In addition, NRPA's Public Policy office helped coordinate advocates across the country to encourage a final Dear Colleague letter to the members of the conference. In just three days, 114 House members signed on to a letter to Chairman Taylor urging him to accede to the Senate funding level.

The agreement also provided:

• $115 million for federal LWCF land acquisition a $101 million decrease from FY 2005, but a slight increase of $1 million from the proposed amount

• $1.3 billion for Superfund Brownfields program, a $13 million increase from FY 2005

• $8.135 million for Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance partnerships, a $200,000 decrease from FY 2005, but $300,000 over the proposed amount

• $68 million for State and Tribal Wildlife Grants, a $2 million decrease from FY 2005, and a decrease of $6 million from the proposed amount

More detailed information will be available on the NRPA website as the final bill reports are made available to the public.