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The Columbus Dispatch
www.dispatch.com
Conservation act is important to quality of life for
Ohioans
Saturday, September 30, 2000
A bill making its way through Congress, if passed, will
guarantee Ohio $54 million annually to protect open space,
conserve wildlife habitat, protect cultural resources, restore
coastal areas of Lake Erie and provide close- to-home recreational
opportunities for years to come.
The Conservation and Reinvestment Act, which passed the
House in May by a 3-1 margin, is being considered in the
Senate, as Senate Bill 2123. This $2.8 billion measure would
be funded by offshore oil- and gas-drilling profits. It
balances the depletion of irreplaceable natural resources,
oil and gas, by protecting other irreplaceable resources,
such as land and water.
One of the bill's programs is the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, a visionary law enacted by Congress in 1964 to funnel
money into conservation projects that would reap long- term
dividends for people and wildlife. Congress authorized the
fund at $900 million annually since 1978, but appropriations
have been sporadic. In fact, state and local governments
have received no money since 1995. Because the fund has
not been established as a "true'' trust fund, Congress
has diverted this money to unrelated programs.
Nevertheless, the fund earlier touched every county in
Ohio and helped hundreds of communities across the state
purchase open land, create parks and greenways, build trails,
protect rivers and streams and conserve critical wildlife
habitats.
The fund is designed so that half of the $900 million supports
federal land acquisition for national parks and forests,
wildlife refuges and marine sanctuaries and the other half
goes to a matching-grants program that allows the states
to determine how best to buy land for conservation and recreation
projects.
In Ohio, $146 million of the fund went to federal projects,
including the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area,
and $125 million went for state and local projects, including
several state parks. Highbanks, Battelle-Darby Creek and
Blendon Woods metro parks and Columbus' Antrim, Big Walnut
and Mayme Moore parks are just a few of the local treasures
that the fund has helped create.
Nationally, we lose an average of 3 million acres of open
space a year. Locally, the rapid expansion of residential
and commercial development is evident, and the loss of open
space and escalation of real-estate prices show the compelling
need for the dedicated and stable funding that would be
provided by this act.
While a vibrant, growing central Ohio is desirable, parks,
wildlife conservation and close-to-home recreational opportunities
rank high on every quality-of-life index.
Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, a leading proponent of the bill,
should be congratulated for his conservation leadership.
Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, currently not supporting
the bill, should be urged to continue the conservation leadership
that he demonstrated when governor of Ohio.
We need to let our elected officials in both the House
and Senate know that passing the Conservation and Reinvestment
Act this year is important to Ohioans, for the future of
Ohio's natural and recreational resources.
Mark A. Young, assistant director
Columbus Recreation and Parks Department
Editor's note: A House-Senate conference committee this
week added to the Interior Department appropriations bill
a measure incorporating portions of the Conservation and
Reinvestment Act. The Interior bill will have to be approved
by both chambers.
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