A congressional hearing held Nov. 18 examined a bill to renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The fund was first established in 1965 to support conservation and outdoor recreation programs. It lapsed in September without legislative action.
During the more than three-hour hearing, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources discussed the proposed Protecting America’s Recreation and Conservation Act (PARC). This bill would update the Land and Water Conservation Fund and renew it for the next seven years.
The new bill sponsored by committee chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) would continue to funnel $900 million from offshore oil and gas royalties to the fund each year.
Changes to how that money can be spent include strict limits on what the federal government can use to acquire new land, as well as setting aside almost half of the fund for state programs.
The bill would also give at least 20 percent of the money back to the oil and gas industry for education efforts and would establish a faster permitting process for offshore drilling. Environmental advocates say this would pull money from the fund’s intended purpose and subsidize pollution.
Other critics of the bill, such as the Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), would also like to see permanent reauthorization of the fund, which has supported projects in the state ranging from community parks to the Coconino National Forest.
Conservation projects in Arizona have received more than $200 million from the fund over the past five decades,according to a tally by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition.
The hearing will continue at a later date.