Packin_packout
WKR
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2019
- Messages
- 324
For those of you from texas...may be of interest to others. Our US senator does not have much interest in public lands and had voted against this act...pinged him about it several months ago and just got the response this week
Thank you for contacting me regarding the acquisition and conservation of public lands. Input from fellow Texans significantly informs my decision-making and empowers me to better represent the state.
America has been blessed with many natural resources. It is our duty to act as responsible stewards to protect our waters, air, and land, along with the many plants and animals that inhabit our lands. The best way to protect all these resources is implementing rational environmental laws that balance the protection of the environment with the rights of private property owners. Texas public lands include some of our most coveted national treasures, from Big Bend National Park to the Padre Island National Seashore. Maintaining public access, infrastructure, and the natural beauty of these lands should be a top priority.
The federal government currently owns 28 percent of all land in the United States and over 50 percent of lands in some states. While the federal government has primarily focused on the acquisition of land, the maintenance of existing federal land has been neglected. Within the National Park Service alone, there is a backlog of deferred maintenance projects that exceeds $11 billion. Despite these facts, federal agencies acquire and hold massive swaths of land, especially in western states, putting these lands out of commercial and even recreational use which deprives surrounding communities of economic and environmental benefits.
Federal programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) allow Congress to provide funding to federal, state, and local governments primarily for the acquisition and development of public lands. Since its inception over 50 years ago, the LWCF has drifted far from its original intent and is in desperate need of reform. Programs like the LWCF often devolve into tools that allow the government to acquire land at will and with little oversight. Simply reauthorizing the LWCF, or doing so without meaningful reforms, will only further erode the efficacy of the program. While I value conservation, federal acquisition of more and more land is not the proper way to achieve it.
Thank you for contacting me regarding the acquisition and conservation of public lands. Input from fellow Texans significantly informs my decision-making and empowers me to better represent the state.
America has been blessed with many natural resources. It is our duty to act as responsible stewards to protect our waters, air, and land, along with the many plants and animals that inhabit our lands. The best way to protect all these resources is implementing rational environmental laws that balance the protection of the environment with the rights of private property owners. Texas public lands include some of our most coveted national treasures, from Big Bend National Park to the Padre Island National Seashore. Maintaining public access, infrastructure, and the natural beauty of these lands should be a top priority.
The federal government currently owns 28 percent of all land in the United States and over 50 percent of lands in some states. While the federal government has primarily focused on the acquisition of land, the maintenance of existing federal land has been neglected. Within the National Park Service alone, there is a backlog of deferred maintenance projects that exceeds $11 billion. Despite these facts, federal agencies acquire and hold massive swaths of land, especially in western states, putting these lands out of commercial and even recreational use which deprives surrounding communities of economic and environmental benefits.
Federal programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) allow Congress to provide funding to federal, state, and local governments primarily for the acquisition and development of public lands. Since its inception over 50 years ago, the LWCF has drifted far from its original intent and is in desperate need of reform. Programs like the LWCF often devolve into tools that allow the government to acquire land at will and with little oversight. Simply reauthorizing the LWCF, or doing so without meaningful reforms, will only further erode the efficacy of the program. While I value conservation, federal acquisition of more and more land is not the proper way to achieve it.