The Land and Water Conservation Fund is one of the United States’ bedrock programs that articulates a commitment to and investment in “outdoor-recreation resources” that strengthen the “health and vitality of the citizens,” according to the bill establishing the fund in 1964. Since then, the LWCF has established a lengthy and varied record of success in implementing the measure that established two streams of funding for its stated purposes: one to go to the states for use in planning for, acquiring and developing outdoor sites; and one for federal land and water purposes. The fund’s authorization is set to expire in September, and Congress should move quickly to re-up the program with as broad a vision as its founding legislation.
The LWCF is among the rarest of federal programs that is widely beloved by citizens and politicians across political divisions. This is surely owed to the broad discretion – within clear but workable parameters – allowed for use of the money that flows to the fund from off-shore gas and oil leases. Under the current formula, 40 percent of the fund must be used each year to purchase federal land. Historically, about 25 percent of the money has gone to state grants that fund a range of projects, statewide and locally.
In Montezuma County, more than $150,000 in LWCF money has helped fund beloved community amenities including the Cortez tennis courts and golf course, Denny Lake Park and the park at Cortez Junior High School, as well as the Dolores Community Pakr. These are outdoor features central both to Montezuma County’s quality of life, as well as to the heart of the conservation fund’s intentions.
Federal land purchases are a critical component of the fund’s investments and speak to its core. The original goal was to ensure that federal lands be preserved for outdoor recreation and use in perpetuity, so that Americans of past, present and future generations can access and enjoy them. That is an investment mindset that suggests continued expansion of this land-and-water network to society’s continued benefit.
Practically, the program has resulted in many in-holding purchases, allowing for continuity across geographical boundaries that has improved efficiency at cost savings for federal land managers. The Trust for Public Lands estimates that every $1 in LWCF investment yields $4 in economic benefit during the next 20 years in natural-resources-related goods and services.
Despite its bipartisan support, there is a move among some to overhaul the program with more emphasis on state grants and maintenance for existing federal lands. While there is no shortage of need for investing in the infrastructure that supports national parks and other public treasures, streamlining the LWCF to that purpose would short-circuit its clear and broad intent of expanding while also protecting the land and water resources available to all Americans.
Rather than legislatively narrow its use to maintenance and state-directed projects, Congress should reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund with its broad scope intact and appropriate its funding each year according to the needs of the day. If that includes infrastructure investment one year and significant federal land purchases the next, all the better for the program.
Given it is a program with a 50-year legacy of success, the program speaks for itself. Congress has what should be an easy task with reauthorizing the LWCF. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, and Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Denver, and Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, should commit to leadership on the effort.
