By Ed Perry, National Wildlife Federation
I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 40’s and 50’s, overlooking the steel mills, about one quarter mile from where the Cuyahoga River caught on fire.
There were no public parks nearby, no playgrounds, no neighborhood swimming pools. My ball-field was an abandoned old field next to a busy highway.
In short, my outdoor recreational opportunities were quite limited.
But the landscape for public outdoor recreation changed dramatically in 1964, when with bipartisan support, Congress created the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The LWCF was established to “…preserve, create and ensure access to outdoor recreation facilities so as to strengthen the health of Americans.” And it has fulfilled its mission admirably.
For the past 54 years, the fund has used a small portion of the federal offshore energy revenues to buy and preserve public lands, purchase angler and boater access, swimming pools, ballfields, local parks, national parks, and historic sites.
There are no tax dollars in the Fund.
After moving from Cleveland, my wife and two boys and I made up for lost time by fishing, camping, hiking, kayaking and enjoying nature all over our great country.
Our trips to iconic places like the Grand Canyon, Everglades National Park, Acadia National Park, and Grand Teton National Park, were some of our family’s best outdoor experiences.
And we never knew those special places were created or heavily supported by the LWCF.
The LWCF was established to compensate for the damage that oil and gas drilling would do to the Gulf, which as we have seen, has been enormous.
Since there are no taxpayer dollars in the LWCF, it is puzzling why Congress refuses to spend these funds for the purposes the Fund was created when there are so many communities that would benefit from a LWCF funded project.
Each year, over $900 million dollars has gone into the fund. Unfortunately, Congress has appropriated full funding to support conservation and recreation projects only once in the Fund’s 54-year history – diverting the remainder of the money elsewhere.
As a result, over $20 billion, of the $48 billion that should have been used to build city and state parks, hiking and biking trails, or acquiring conservation easements to protect fish and wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities for all Americans, has gone into the black-hole of the Federal treasury.
And Congress has allowed this to happen.
The LWCF has indeed benefited communities in every state, with over 41,000 projects being funded. And Pennsylvania has been especially blessed.
The list includes the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area (photo), the Flight 93 Memorial, Fort Hunter and Wildwood Park in Harrisburg as well as 26 other funded parks in the area, Allegheny Landing Park in Pittsburgh, boat ramps in Erie, 16 parks in the York city area and over 40 parks, pools and playgrounds in the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area.
In sum, virtually every part of the state has benefited from LWCF funding.
Outdoor recreation is big business, and the projects funded by the LWCF help drive the Nation’s $887 billion recreation outdoor industry. Moreover, many of the 7.6 million jobs the Outdoor Recreation Association says are directly attributable to outdoor recreation are in rural communities and gateway areas to national parks, monuments, and forests.
Without congressional action, this wonderful program that has benefited so many communities around the country is set to expire on September 30.
Therefore, it’s urgent we contact our federal representatives and demand they permanently reauthorize the LWCF with full funding so that we can create and protect those special places that are so important to all of us.
Act NOW
Contact your Representative and Senator in Congress to let them know you support LWCF and want to see it both reauthorized and fully used for its intended purpose – to protect natural, cultural, and recreational opportunities in Pennsylvania.
(Photo: Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, Lebanon County.)
Ed Perry is the PA Outreach Coordinator, National Wildlife Federation, and a former U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service aquatic biologist. He can be contacted by sending email to: paglobalwarmingoutreach@gmail.com.
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