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[h=1]Congress must get serious about funding great outdoors[/h]See it in Print
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[h=1]Randy Newberg[/h]Randy
Newberg
2015-07-08T00:00:00ZCongress must get serious about funding great outdoorsMontana Standard
18 hours ago
(1) Comments
The clock is ticking. In less than 100 days we lose a program that has shaped outdoor access and recreation in Montana, yet Congress seems content to let public land access whither on the vine of political posturing.
I was almost a year old when Congress created the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). A new idea to invest a small royalty revenue from offshore oil and gas leases into land, water and recreation areas for the public. A creative conservation idea that’s not used a single dime of taxpayer money. An obvious need fifty years ago is even more critical today. As America grows its economy and develops its natural resources, rank-and-file Americans are losing traditional access to the great outdoors.
A half century track record shows how the Land and Water Conservation fund has become more effective than anyone could have ever imagined. LWCF provides options for solving difficult access issues by purchasing inholdings, fishing access sites, land consolidations, easements, and all tools needed in today’s complex world.
When I talk with hunters across the west, the No. 1 concern they see for the future of hunting is access; with LWCF being the biggest access tool hunters have. That concern is supported by studies from the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Over 70% of hunters in Rocky Mountain States list public lands as their primary access for hunting. Pretty easy to connect the dots that the future of hunting is connected to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Yet, Congress lacks the ability to connect those dots; or maybe it’s a lack of priority.
It’s unacceptable that Congress occupies itself with petty issues, while deferring reauthorization of a known workhorse; the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Any Congressional delegate wanting to demonstrate their support for hunting, fishing, and recreation access has been served up a home run pitch with LWCF.
LWCF has done so much so much in Montana, it is hard to imagine a world without it. In my back yard of Bozeman, the Gallatin National Forest has had over 200,000 acres of accessible public lands acquired and improved by LWCF. All who hunt and fish across our state can probably find a similar LWCF story in their back yard.
Anyone thinking access is tough today, think of what it would be like if LWCF hadn’t allowed us to acquire and conserve millions of acres. Without this program, fishing access sites all along our famous trout streams, and thousands of acres of hunting ground, would be guarded with “No Trespassing” signs.
LWCF makes good business sense. It’s not coming from tax revenue, rather resource royalties. It’s a fiscally conservative method to protect our heritage and boost our multi-billion dollar outdoor economy dependent upon public land. Being a CPA, we call that an investment, not an expense.
With all the good that comes from this program and clear support from groups as diverse as timber companies to conservation organizations to conservative sportsmen groups, you’d think it this would be a slam dunk for Congress. Well, you’d be wrong.
The clock keeps ticking down and we see Congress doing the partisan polka; one step forward and two steps back, while they dance to the music of DC powers. I’ve gone back to DC several times to promote the value of LWCF and counter misinformed ideas that drastically reform LWCF, or worse yet, defund the program and turn it into something it was never intended to be.
We can’t let “DC dysfunction” ruin a good thing for Montana. Fortunately, Montana’s lawmakers represent the best chance to rise above the morass and renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund before the clock expires in September. But they need your encouragement.
If you’re reading this, call Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke today. Send them a clear message – Renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund, NOW! Playing political poker might work in DC, but Montana’s conservation legacy did not come about by gambling with our recreation businesses and the public access that makes Montana all that it is.
Randy Newberg is a Bozeman-based hunter, producer, and TV host of "Fresh Tracks with Randy Newberg."
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[h=1]Randy Newberg[/h]Randy
Newberg
2015-07-08T00:00:00ZCongress must get serious about funding great outdoorsMontana Standard
18 hours ago
(1) Comments
The clock is ticking. In less than 100 days we lose a program that has shaped outdoor access and recreation in Montana, yet Congress seems content to let public land access whither on the vine of political posturing.
I was almost a year old when Congress created the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). A new idea to invest a small royalty revenue from offshore oil and gas leases into land, water and recreation areas for the public. A creative conservation idea that’s not used a single dime of taxpayer money. An obvious need fifty years ago is even more critical today. As America grows its economy and develops its natural resources, rank-and-file Americans are losing traditional access to the great outdoors.
A half century track record shows how the Land and Water Conservation fund has become more effective than anyone could have ever imagined. LWCF provides options for solving difficult access issues by purchasing inholdings, fishing access sites, land consolidations, easements, and all tools needed in today’s complex world.
When I talk with hunters across the west, the No. 1 concern they see for the future of hunting is access; with LWCF being the biggest access tool hunters have. That concern is supported by studies from the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Over 70% of hunters in Rocky Mountain States list public lands as their primary access for hunting. Pretty easy to connect the dots that the future of hunting is connected to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Yet, Congress lacks the ability to connect those dots; or maybe it’s a lack of priority.
It’s unacceptable that Congress occupies itself with petty issues, while deferring reauthorization of a known workhorse; the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Any Congressional delegate wanting to demonstrate their support for hunting, fishing, and recreation access has been served up a home run pitch with LWCF.
LWCF has done so much so much in Montana, it is hard to imagine a world without it. In my back yard of Bozeman, the Gallatin National Forest has had over 200,000 acres of accessible public lands acquired and improved by LWCF. All who hunt and fish across our state can probably find a similar LWCF story in their back yard.
Anyone thinking access is tough today, think of what it would be like if LWCF hadn’t allowed us to acquire and conserve millions of acres. Without this program, fishing access sites all along our famous trout streams, and thousands of acres of hunting ground, would be guarded with “No Trespassing” signs.
LWCF makes good business sense. It’s not coming from tax revenue, rather resource royalties. It’s a fiscally conservative method to protect our heritage and boost our multi-billion dollar outdoor economy dependent upon public land. Being a CPA, we call that an investment, not an expense.
With all the good that comes from this program and clear support from groups as diverse as timber companies to conservation organizations to conservative sportsmen groups, you’d think it this would be a slam dunk for Congress. Well, you’d be wrong.
The clock keeps ticking down and we see Congress doing the partisan polka; one step forward and two steps back, while they dance to the music of DC powers. I’ve gone back to DC several times to promote the value of LWCF and counter misinformed ideas that drastically reform LWCF, or worse yet, defund the program and turn it into something it was never intended to be.
We can’t let “DC dysfunction” ruin a good thing for Montana. Fortunately, Montana’s lawmakers represent the best chance to rise above the morass and renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund before the clock expires in September. But they need your encouragement.
If you’re reading this, call Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines and Congressman Ryan Zinke today. Send them a clear message – Renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund, NOW! Playing political poker might work in DC, but Montana’s conservation legacy did not come about by gambling with our recreation businesses and the public access that makes Montana all that it is.
Randy Newberg is a Bozeman-based hunter, producer, and TV host of "Fresh Tracks with Randy Newberg."
