Bush Seeks Full Funding of the Land and Conservation Fund with over $107 million for National Park Service Land Acquisition

National Park Trust
Monday, 9 April 2001

Washington, DC. April 9, 2001 - President Bush has released his budget proposal, which includes $2.5 billion for the National Park Service (NPS), and full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million. The NPS is seeking $107 million LWCF money to acquire over 30 thousand acres within 41 national parks.

The 30 thousand acres for which the park service has requested funding represent some of the most threatened properties within our national parks. "We are pleased to see the President's commitment to our national parks," says Paul Pritchard, President, National Park Trust", but there is still much work to do."

There are over 6 million acres within our national parks that are owned by private citizens or organizations. These privately owned lands are commonly called inholdings. (To put this into perspective, one acre in fourteen within our national parks is privately owned.) As private developers gobble up these inholdings, usually for development and other destructive purposes, a grave danger faces our national parks, a danger which threatens to dismantle our parks from the inside out.

The big winner in this budget would have to be the states. Half of the LWCF money, $450 million, is for State Conservation Grants to be administered by NPS. This will give the states the latitude they need to increase their land acquisition, habitat protection and recreation programs.

Please contact NPT to find out which park in your state will receive funding or what dangers threaten your favorite park.

Founded in 1983, the National Park Trust (NPT) is the only land conservancy dedicated to preserving America's national system of parks, wildlife, and historic monuments. NPT was established to help combat one of the greatest threats facing our national system of parklands and wildlife refuges: inholdings.

LETTER FROM NPT PRESIDENT

Dear Friend of the Parklands:

In the upcoming months, Congress will be considering the level of funding for one of most important pieces of park legislation, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). In 1964, Congress established this fund, which uses revenues from offshore oil and gas receipts to purchase national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests and other public lands; to support the creation of new national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and open spaces; and to provide matching grants to states for parklands.

LWCF has been instrumental in preserving almost seven million acres of America's park and water resources in more than 37,000 national, state, and local parks, refuges, recreation areas and other parkland projects.

However, since its inception, Congress has approved only a fraction of the promised funds for land acquisition, conservation, and recreation. The LWCF is authorized to receive $900 million per year but over the life of the program has only averaged around $100 million per year. From FY 1995 to FY 1999, LWCF was not even funded! In FY 2000, only $40 million and in FY 2001 only $89 million of $900 million available was even appropriated.

Over six million acres within the boundaries of our National Parks and nine million acres in our National Wildlife Refuges are still privately owned. These privately owned lands, better known as "inholdings," represent time bombs which are waiting to explode. As Reader's Digest, February 2001, reported, speculators and private developers gobble up these inholdings, usually for development, bulldozing, clear cutting and other destructive purposes. Our parklands are facing their greatest threat in the history of our nation.

The explosion may take form as a visitor's tower in the middle of Gettysburg National Battlefield; it may come as a Carnival Resort Hotel nestled in the pristine wilderness of Denali National Park; or it may be a strip mall along the river or lake you visited as a child with your family. Regardless, the bomb is ticking and it is exploding in bombs across the nation.

The LWCF was conceived to preserve the heritage of our natural and cultural resources and reduce the threat that inholdings pose to our nation's parklands. BUT, the failure to fully fund LWFC has resulted in the loss of precious open spaces, which Americans will no longer have to enjoy.

You can help prevent this crisis from continuing. You can help stop this dismantling of our parks from the inside out by writing, calling or e-mailing your representatives in Congress and urging them to fully fund both the state and federal portions of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Please confirm to NPT at legacy@parktrust.org after you have contacted your representatives sending us a copy.

America's parklands tell us a story about who we are, where we've been, and where we are going. These precious resources stand as a reminder of the struggles that we have faced as a nation. More importantly, our parklands remind us that where there have been battles and struggles, conflict and strife, America is, and always has been, a land of hope and perseverance. We hope that you will take the time to help preserve this American story as it is told in our national parklands.

Sincerely,
Paul Pritchard
President, National Park Trust

Founded in 1983, the National Park Trust (NPT) is the only land conservancy dedicated exclusively to the preservation of America's national system of parks, wildlife, and historic monuments.

You can help by sending a contribution to the NPT for LWCF, America's Heritage Fund.

For more information, or to contact National Park Trust, see their website at: www.parktrust.org