{"id":43814,"date":"2019-02-12T16:17:25","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T00:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=43814"},"modified":"2019-04-12T14:52:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T21:52:02","slug":"senate-passes-bipartisan-bill-to-protect-public-lands-and-waterways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/senate-passes-bipartisan-bill-to-protect-public-lands-and-waterways","title":{"rendered":"Senate Passes Bipartisan Bill to Protect Public Lands and Waterways"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan bill that would protect millions of acres and hundreds of miles of wild river in a 92-8 vote. Pending approval by the House and the president, the bill would also make permanent the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which\u00a0The Wilderness Society<\/a><\/span> says is the most important conservation and recreation program in the country.<\/p>\n

Advocates applauded the legislation\u2019s passage in the Senate and pointed to its bipartisan success as an optimistic indicator that public lands are once again returning to a position that can unite Republicans and Democrats.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday marks an overdue but critical victory for America\u2019s most important conservation funding program and for protecting our wild lands,\u201d Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s encouraging to see the new Congress immediately moving bipartisan legislation that conserves our land and water for today and for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Natural Resources Manage<\/a>ment Act<\/a>, or S.47, was introduced Jan. 8 in the Senate by Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who chairs the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the former committee ranking member in the 115th Congress.<\/p>\n

Not only does the public lands package have bipartisan support in the Senate, but it also bundles more than 100 public lands and water bills that reflect the diverse interests of those who love the outdoors. From hunters and anglers, to motorized-vehicle users, to equestrians and human-powered recreationists like hikers, mountain bikers and backcountry skiers\u2014the public lands package has a little bit of something for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public lands package is huge,\u201d said Kirsten Blackburn, advocacy manager of The Conservation Alliance<\/a>, which links businesses in the outdoor industry to the conservation community. Eight of the alliance\u2019s priorities for public lands conservation and recreation\u2014projects the nonprofit has been working on for more than a decade\u2014were addressed in the package. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful that it\u2019s a move in the right direction, and folks are beginning to put politics aside for a little bit and realize that public lands are important to their constituents and important to Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The centerpiece of the public lands package is the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)<\/a>. Established in 1964, the LWCF takes earnings from offshore energy development\u2014in theory, up to $900 million per year in royalties\u2014and invests them in public lands. The money has been used to acquire lands and create opportunities for recreation across the country\u2014the LWCF Coalition<\/a><\/u> estimates the fund has a reach that extends to nearly every county in the nation. It\u2019s had a hand in creating and maintaining state and local parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, bikeways, boat ramps and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was conceived as this elegant offset for energy development,\u201d said Amy Lindholm, manager of the LWCF Coalition on staff at the Appalachian Mountain Club. \u201cYou\u2019re basically taking some of the profit from drawing down a resource and you\u2019re reinvesting that in a lasting a resource for all the public to enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fund has been a significant resource and tool to help land managers and nonprofits with conservation work. But it has two shortcomings. First, Lindholm said that throughout its lifespan Congress has diverted, on average, between one-half and two-thirds of the LWCF funding. That\u2019s a trend Lindholm hopes to change. But before she or anyone can secure permanent full funding, the LWCF must exist. That\u2019s the second problem. After 54 years, congress let the LWCF expire on Sept. 30, 2018. For every day of its expiration, Lindholm said the fund has lost $2.5 million that would have potentially been used for conservation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s up to over $300 million that has been lost since it expired,\u201d said Lindholm. \u201cIt casts such a chill over the pipeline of projects. These are complex real estate deals. It\u2019s hard work, even in the best of times, and the funding fluctuates wildly.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the LWCF secures permanent reauthorization with the passage of the Natural Resources Management Act, Lindholm said the next step will be to enact a piece of legislation aimed to prevent Congress from diverting money away from the LWCF. \u201cIf we can get this permanent reauthorization done, then we can focus the conversation 100 percent on the dedicated funding issue,\u201d said Lindholm.<\/p>\n

The LWCF may have the most far-reaching consequences of any legislation within the package, but the bulk of the 662 pages in the bill are devoted to designating public land for conservation and recreation. One of the most expansive public land designations is the Emery County Public Land Management Act<\/a>, in Utah, which would protect a little less than a million acres of public land in the rugged and iconic San Rafael Swell <\/a>with Recreation and Wilderness Area designations.\u00a0The Emery County Act would designate 63 miles of Utah\u2019s Green River as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of these places, our community [of outdoors people] were consulted,\u201d Blackburn said. \u201cThe mountain bikers, and the backcountry skiers, and the climbers, and the conservationists, they had a voice in the development of these pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein\u2019s California Desert Act<\/a>, which protects more than 700,000 acres in the California deserts, designates 77 miles of Wild and Scenic rivers, and expands Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks, is also in the public lands package. \u201cShe\u2019s been introducing this bill for well over 10 years,\u201d Blackburn said.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just a taste of what else is contained in the bill:<\/p>\n