1. Americans Outdoors
Act Introduced in Senate
On
Thursday, June 24th, Sen’s. Lamar
Alexander (R-TN) and Mary Landrieu
(D-LA) introduced a bill that funds
a variety of outdoor recreation programs.
The Americans Outdoors Act, S. 2590,
would provide a permanent funding
stream from Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) revenues for wildlife conservation,
coastal protection, the stateside
Land and Water Conservation Fund,
and the Urban Park and Recreation
Recovery Program (UPARR). The bill
would direct $1.4 billion to be spent
each year for the authorized programs,
not subject to annual appropriation.
Funds would be directed to the appropriate
federal agencies and states through
established regulations authorized
in the act.
The
bill was referred to the Senate Energy
and Natural Resources Committee and
a hearing is scheduled for July 13th.
AHR
is particularly enthusiastic about
the perceptive recognition in the
bill for the urgent need to provide
our states, cities, and local communities
with a steady funding source. LWCF
and UPARR are two effective programs
that have been overlooked in the annual
funding process. These two programs
provide valuable, close to home recreation
opportunities, helping to keep citizens
physically active and healthy.
Unfortunately,
the Senate bill, upon introduction,
does not include the federal side
of the Land and Water Conservation
Fund. However, commitments have been
made by Senators Alexander and Landrieu
to introduce an amendment to address
the absence of the $450 million for
federal acquisition programs during
the Energy and Natural Resources Committee
action on the bill.
The
Senate bill complements the work of
Rep’s. George Miller (D-CA) and
Don Young (R-AK), who introduced the
Get Outdoors Act, HR 4100, earlier
this year. That bill fully funds LWCF
and UPARR, among other conservation
and recreation programs.
For
more information on the Americans
Outdoors Act and the Get Outdoors
Act: http://thomas.loc.gov/
U.S. Senate Press
Release, June 24, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 24, 2004
CONTACT:
Alexia Poe (Alexander) 202-224-8816
Gina Farrell (Landrieu) 202-224-0088
Sens. Alexander
and Landrieu Introduce Americans Outdoors
Act
Legislation
Would Provide Conservation Legacy
for Generations of Americans
Washington,
D.C. - Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
and Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) today
will introduce the Americans Outdoors
Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation
that will provide a landmark federal
commitment to conservation, coastal
restoration, and outdoor recreation.
The
Americans Outdoors Act would provide
a steady and reliable stream of funding
by redirecting a portion of offshore
oil and gas revenues to four areas:
coastal impact assistance, the state
side of the Land and Water Conservation
Act, wildlife conservation, and urban
parks and recreation initiatives.
“There
is nothing more central to the American
character than the great American
Outdoors. That is why there is such
a large conservation majority in the
United States," Sen. Alexander
said during a news conference on Capitol
Hill. "This legislation looks
ahead for a generation to make sure
we have places to enjoy our outdoors.
This bill would fully fund already
existing programs for wildlife conservation,
which will benefit hunters and fisherman,
birdwatchers, walkers, bikers and
all Americans who enjoy outdoor recreation.
It would fully fund city parks, so
children can have decent, clean places
to play. It would also protect wetlands.
“The
legislation would be paid for by what
I think of as a ‘conservation
royalty.’ It is modeled after
the state royalty for onshore drilling
that has been in existence since the
1920’s in which 50 cents of every
dollar goes to the state in which
drilling occurs. In a similar way,
this would create a conservation royalty
of about 25 percent for revenues collected
from oil and gas drilling on offshore
federal lands.”
“The
Americans Outdoors Act is a landmark,
multi-year commitment to conservation
programs that would benefit all 50
states. With this legislation, we
can make the most significant dedication
of resources to conservation this
nation has ever made, and ensure a
positive legacy of protecting and
enhancing our cultural, natural and
recreational resources for generations
to come,” Sen. Landrieu said.
“Although the federal government
has time and again said it would fully
fund these initiatives, instead these
programs have been shortchanged, under
funded or left out all together. It
is time to move past that kind of
thinking and provide reliable, steady
and significant funding for the urgent
conservation and outdoor recreation
needs of our states and cities.”
Alexander
and Landrieu said they would propose
an amendment to fully fund the "federal
side" of the Land and Water Conservation
Fund but only after talking with other
senators and developing a consensus.
Here
is how the funding would be allocated
among the four areas:
• Coastal Impact Assistance.
$500 million to oil and gas producing
coastal states to mitigate the various
impacts of states that serve as “platforms”
for the crucial development of federal
offshore energy resources from the
Outer Continental Shelf. It also will
provide for wetland restoration efforts.
•
“State side” of the Land
and Water Conservation Fund. $450
million to fully fund the planning
and development of state and local
parks and recreation facilities. States
would be allocated 60 percent of that,
divided equally among all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and territories
and tribes, and then the remaining
40 percent based on population.
•
Wildlife Conservation. $350 million
to fully fund a broad variety of wildlife
conservation programs, both game and
non-game species, for all 50 states.
•
Urban Parks Recreation and Recovery
Program (UPARR). $125 million to fully
fund UPARR in the form of matching
grants (70 percent) to provide direct
assistance to urban localities for
rehabilitation of critically needed
recreation programs, sites and facilities
with the goal of more green spaces,
playgrounds and ball fields.
Alexander,
chairman of the Energy Subcommittee,
served as chairman of President Reagan's
Commission on Americans Outdoor, which
recommended many of these programs,
including offshore oil drilling to
fully fund federal and state conservation
programs. Sen. Landrieu, a member
of the Senate Energy Committee has
championed direct and dedicated federal
funding for coastal restoration and
conservation efforts since being elected
in 1996.
The
Senate Energy Committee will hold
a hearing on the bill Tuesday, July
13.
A
similar bill, called the Get Outdoors
Act, has been introduced in the House
by Congressmen Don Young (R-Alaska),
George Miller (D-Calif.) and Chris
John (D-La.).
2. Senate Interior
Appropriations Subcommittee Releases
FY 2005 Funding
The
Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee
released its funding allocations for
FY 2005. The Land and Water Conservation
Fund (LWCF) fared much better in this
chamber: Of the more than $20 billion
allocated for Interior operations,
$215 million was allocated to federal
LWCF and $94 million was given to
stateside LWCF. Unfortunately, once
again, UPARR was zeroed out in the
process. The next step is for the
entire Appropriations Committee to
pass the bill. That will occur sometime
after the Fourth of July congressional
recess. That bill will then be “reconciled”
with the already passed House bill
sometime in the fall. A comparison
among some of the programs in the
Administration’s budget request,
the House-passed funding level, and
Senate Subcommittee bill is below:
Federal
LWCF Land Acquisition –
Administration: $220 million
House: $0 million
Senate Subcommittee: $215 million
Stateside
LWCF –
Administration: $94 million
House $91.5 million
Senate Subcommittee: $94 million
UPARR
–
Administration: $0 million
House: $0
Senate Subcommittee: $0
Forest
Legacy –
Administration: $100 million
House: $ 43 million
Senate Subcommittee: $ 79 million
Historic
Preservation Fund –
Administration: $78 million
House: $72 million
Senate Subcommittee: $71 million
State
Wildlife Grants –
Administration: $80 million
House: $68 million
Senate Subcommittee: $75 million
3. ONLY 10 RECREATIONAL AREAS IN U.S.
TO RECEIVE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL
AWARD
First “21st Century American
Places Award” Conferred Today
Washington,
DC, June 25th –Americans
for Our Heritage and Recreation (AHR),
a non-profit organization in Washington,
D.C. dedicated to preserving the Great
Outdoors, has just announced the 10
recipients of its 21st Century American
Places Award.
The
award honors recreational areas across
the country that have received assistance
from the Land and Water Conservation
Fund (LWCF) and emerged as models
of recreation and conservation. Of
the more than 40,000 national recreational
areas funded in part by LWCF, 10 will
receive “21st Century American
Place” designations in local
ceremonies throughout the summer.
Beginning
with Big Dry Creek Trail in metropolitan
Denver, CO, which will receive the
first award today, the honored American
places are:
