A powerful congressman–along with the special interests that support him–is seeking to dismantle the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), one of America’s most successful and popular land conservation programs.
Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, is blocking bipartisan efforts to reauthorize the 50-year-old program and seeking to replace LWCF with a scheme that completely betrays the program’s conservation purposes.
If you are a conservative who values our parks, forests and outdoor recreation opportunities, please go to our take action page and let your representatives in Congress know you oppose this radical legislation.
LWCF is based on a very conservative idea: use a small portion of revenues from the depletion of one type of natural resource - offshore oil and gas - to support the conservation of others, our land and water. It is a critical tool in the protection of land for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and virtually any other outdoor activity. This is land that belongs to all Americans, and it pays huge dividends in our quality of life, our health, and our economic well-being.
Mr. Gordon you’re “outrage” is disingenuous at best. The “land grab” that you are so oteaherved about is nothing of the kind. The LWCF, funded by oil and gas royalties, provides invaluable resources to acquire, protect and manage environmentally sensitive and heritage lands. You could have at least informed your readers that the fund was completely raided by the Reagan administration and never restored or made whole. You seem to have a problem with the American people as an entity holding property. From the state you singled out with over 85% of its lands owned by the American people, let me assure you that most of it is more than available for economic use, particularly mining and grazing. Neither of these sectors have paid a fair price for the extraction or use of these resources, particularly mining with the 1872 Federal MIning Act not being updated or revised since that date. You need to be honest you don’t want the American people to protect their heritage lands , but if they do you want American businesses to be able to exploit it to the fullest extent at the lowest possible cost if at all and no responsibility to repair what they damage or destroy. Nevada, a top 10 tourism economy and the nation’s largest gold mining market on a boom is having a most difficult time. Yes, close to 85% of the state are owned by the feds I am proud to be a green shill from this great state and value our western culture and identity. Trust me when I tell you eco-tourism and clean energy development are desired by our citizens so we can diversify our economy and sustain our way of life. We need it because the nuclear testing, Air Force and Navy bombing ranges, gold mining, cattle and sheep grazing all of which use these lands are insufficient to sustain our economy and way of life. You and the Heritage Foundation need to take your nostaligic, unrealistic glasses off and join the 21st century besides breeches, powdered wigs and stockings are long out of fashion. I don’t know where you are located, but out west we haven’t heard any outcries from the natural resource industries of a shortage of land areas to forest, mine, drill or graze. In your view, the only Americans worthy of getting something for nothing private landholders the rest of America is S.O.L. It is regrettable that you hold the American people is such disregard and disrespect. I suppose if you had your way the monuments of D.C., Mt. Rushmore, the national parks, forests and seashores would be sold off because only private interests should hold property. Thank goodness you and your buddies are a small, albeit archaic minority. Even most of American corporations and their owners, boards and stockholders don’t share your views regarding stewardship of America’s bounty and beauty. Thank God.