Saving land

Congress has finally decided to revive funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, money from oil and gas production on outer continental shelf areas to provide recreational opportunities and preserve fish and wildlife. The current debate is over how much money will be put in and how it will be divided. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut last week offered an attractive alternative, one that Maine’s senators should support.

The LWCF began 35 years as a kind of compensation — the removal of the nation’s finite supply of gas and oil in exchange for money to preserve open spaces, build recreational areas and protect wildlife. These reserves generate between $3 billion and $5 billion annually to the federal government. Fully funded, the LWCF would receive $900 million annually, evenly divided between state and federal projects. Unfortunately, Congress often has found other uses for the money, and has not funded the state programs since 1995. Congress has, in effect, reneged on a bargain it made with the public.

This year, however, it appears to have changed its mind about the value of putting aside these funds for conservation purposes. Whether it was because the sponsors of some of the legislation, representing states where the oil and gas drilling is being done, directed more money toward themselves or whether the recent successes of state conservation referenda got their attention is uncertain. Whatever the reason, Congress seems determined to pass something, and Maine’s delegation can play a role in encouraging fair play for this important program.

Sen. Lieberman offers a $2.5 billion funding package called The Natural Resources Reinvestment Act of 1999 that not only fully funds the LWCF, but restores money for state fish and wildlife conservation, historic preservation and provides matching conservation grants. All 50 states would qualify for the grants, and Maine, based on its population, coastline and land area, could receive $12.5 million annually in addition to the other funding sources.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund, the primary federal source of money for conservation lands, parks, play areas, etc., has been a real success. It has helped with the purchase of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, places like Lobster Lake and ballfields and boat ramps in hundreds of Maine towns — nearly 700 projects in all. Nationally, it has helped to protect some 7 million acres, including some 37,000 parks and recreation areas, the Everglades and Saguaro National Parks, the Appalachian Trail, the Martin Luther King Jr., National Historic Site, and Niagara Falls.

The Lieberman legislation, already co-sponsored by senators from neighboring states — Sen. John Chaffee of Rhode Island and Sens. Jim Jeffords and Patrick Leahy of Vermont — re-establishes successful programs that have helped nationwide to conserve land. It goes further however by setting aside some of the funding for states that exceed minimal standards for protection. It is an opportunity for smaller states to be rewarded for the benefits of good stewardship and should make the legislation particularly attractive to Maine’s senators.