LWCF - Montana Wildlife Federation

MONTANA FAMILIES THRIVE ON PUBLIC LANDS

August 2, 2021July 28, 2016 by Guest Profile

Photo Credit: Brett French

Summer is upon us…and every mom in Montana knows what that means. Our local playgrounds, swimming pools, trails and rivers become classrooms for our wee ones for the next three months. The longest days of the year are spent catching frogs, roasting marshmallows on camping trips, and dodging elementary-aged neighborhood biker gangs pedaling off to their next adventure.
Moms across Montana wouldn’t have it any other way.

I beam with pride at the end of the day looking at my three little ladies from across the dinner table: knees scraped, hair a tangle of knots and pine needles, and faces flushed from a day of playing under the big sky…instead of having spent the day indoors glued to an iPad screen. Their memories will be peppered with urban adventures right out our backdoor, thanks to public lands and rivers.

The Montana Mountain Mamas spoke out early and often in support of programs such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund, because we rely on public lands every day to raise our kids. Even if we aren’t on a backpacking trip in the Bob Marshall, riding the Going-to-the-Sun Road in the springtime on bikes, or running the rapids on the Gallatin River – our public spaces positively affect our kids every single day. And as parents, we’ll protect their right to access public spaces that enable them to scrape knees and get muddy.

LWCF supports vital local urban spaces like community parks, trails, playgrounds, swimming pools, fishing access sites and soccer fields. Our public lands are so much more diverse than national parks and big game hunting grounds on forest service land. Our public lands are all around us, every day.

Programs such as LWCF are a win-win for all Montanans. LWCF is not a tax that we see; instead the funding is derived from offshore oil and gas exploration. It tackles big-picture conservation issues such as checker boarded public lands that effect wildlife migration, but also closer-to-home solutions such as funding for a local lacrosse field and urban connecter trails so that kids can take a trail from their homes all of the way to their school.

For most Montana parents, our public lands are where we raise our children. We depend on fishing access sites to float and fish our blue ribbon trout streams, we hold birthday parties in our neighborhood parks, and we make home purchases based upon proximity to playgrounds.

Kids who grow up in Montana get the best of both worlds. They understand the need for big country for big game, and often spend every autumn weekend hunting on our public lands with family and friends. However they also enjoy the local, close-to-home benefits public lands offer…like that evening casting session for trout in urban waterways across Montana.

The Montana Mountain Mamas are dedicated to raising our kids with plenty of fresh air, clean water, and access to it all. We are proud to speak out on behalf of our kids and our public lands. Visit www.montanamountainmamas.org to sign up for our newsletter, check out our latest gear review, or read our most recent blog post from gals across Montana.

Becky Edwards lives in Bozeman with her husband and three daughters, and is the Director of the Montana Mountain Mamas.

Land and Water Conservation Fund

June 3, 2021February 8, 2016 by Guest Profile

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped secure nearly 70% of the fishing access sites in Montana.

In a strong statement of support for conservation, the 2017 budget being offered by the Obama Administration proposes to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The President’s budget calls for $900 million for the fund, which includes more than $26 million in funding for the addition of new lands to wildlife refuges, national forests, trails, and other public land areas in Montana.

“This is great news for Montana’s hunters, anglers, and everyone who enjoys our outdoors,” said Kathy Hadley, president of the Montana Wildlife Federation. “These funds will protect crucial wildlife habitat, hunting opportunity, and access for outdoor recreation.”

For more than 50 years, LWCF has been one of our nation’s most successful conservation programs. The program puts aside a portion of federal revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing to fund land conservation and improve access to public lands, parks and waterways. Funding allocated to LWCF does not come at taxpayer expense.

Since 1964, the LWCF has resulted in roughly $16 billion in spending nationwide, protecting everything from backcountry national forest lands to urban parks. Montana has received over $400 million in funding from LWCF. These funds have protected important lands in the Blackfoot Valley, on the Rocky Mountain Front, in the Greater Yellowstone region, and all over the state. LWCF funds have also been used to acquire key parcels that open up large areas of “land-locked” public land for hunting and fishing.

The budget proposed by the Obama Administration builds on an agreement in Congress last December to provide $450 million in funding for LWCF.

Montana Senator Jon Tester, Senator Steve Daines, and Congressman Ryan Zinke all support full funding and permanent authorization for LWCF. Their bipartisan support and reliable leadership on behalf of the program will be crucial to securing enactment of the full funding proposed by the President.

President’s Proposal to Fully Fund LWCF

Montana sportsmen: Utah lawmaker threatens the future of hunting and fishing

June 3, 2021November 5, 2015 by Alec Underwood

HELENA MT – Montana sportsmen say a proposal by a Utah Rep. Rob Bishop to gut the 50-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) would be a disaster for the future of hunting and fishing and virtually end America’s most effective tool for conserving habitat and public access.

The Utah Republican today unveiled a first look at his plans to upend the program in the House Natural Resources Committee. Among other things, Bishop’s plan would drastically divert historic funding away from projects that seek to conserve wildlife habitat and expand public access to hunt and fish.

Since 1965, the Land & Water Conservation Fund has helped conserve habitat and open up access across Montana and the rest of the United States. For example, more than half of fishing access sites in Montana were paid for with help from LWCF.

Montanans were quick to condemn Bishop’s move.

“The Land & Water Conservation Fund works for Montanans and all Americans. To say it needs ‘reform’ is an insult to its 50-year track record of success,” said Hannah Ryan, co-chair of the Montana Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. “This legislation should be seen what it is: an ideologically driven effort to torpedo America’s most successful conservation and access program.”

“All we need is full funding for LWCF,” said Kathy Hadley, President of the Montana Wildlife Federation. “Reform is just a diversion to run the clock down on the program. At best, it means taking funding away from America’s outdoor families. At worst, it means killing LWCF completely.”

Montana’s entire Congressional Delegation is on the record supporting LWCF, following a hard-fought effort to reauthorize it at the end of the 2015 fiscal year in September. Rep. Bishop was among those who held up reauthorizing the 50-year-old program.

LWCF, which enjoys bipartisan support and relies on offshore oil leases and not taxpayer funding, has invested in everything from playgrounds, swimming pools, and local parks. In Montana, LWCF is responsible for recently opening up public access to the famed Tenderfoot Creek in the Lewis and Clark National Forest and helped pay for most of the state’s fishing access sites, statewide.

“If you are a hunter or angler in Montana, you’ve used an access point purchased through LWCF,” said Jim Vashro a retired Fish, Wildlife, and Parks fisheries biologist and President of Flathead Wildlife in Kalispell, MT. “The program doesn’t need reform, it just needs reauthorization and full funding.”

Although the program isn’t currently authorized, stakeholders are still hopeful for a year-end fix. They don’t see any path forward for Rep. Bishop’s current vision.

“Montana has long been a leader in the effort to fund and reauthorize LWCF,” said Glenn Marx, Executive Director of the Montana Association of Land Trusts. “We will not let attacks on the program distract us from moving forward.”

The Montana Wildlife Federation depends on your support to keep up the fight for public access, public wildlife, and public land. Donate today.

CONGRESS MUST STOP RAIDING LWCF

June 3, 2021September 25, 2015 by Guest Profile

In 1964, Congress enacted the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to set aside a portion of federal revenues from offshore oil and gas development to pay for parks, wildlife habitat, and other natural areas. In other words, the money the federal government makes from developing public resources is dedicated back into conserving other public resources.

LWCF provides a simple, common-sense way to offset some of the impacts of oil and gas drilling and support much-needed land conservation without using taxpayer dollars. It’s no wonder that LWCF was enacted with bipartisan support. Republicans and Democrats all saw the thrifty wisdom in this common-sense program.

Under the law, the LWCF is supposed to provide $900 million a year in funding to purchase land, water, and public access. Over the last 50 years, the fund has accrued a total of about $36 billion from offshore oil and gas drilling.

Unfortunately, Congress has regularly raided the LWCF to cover other government spending. Nearly every year since the program has created, Congress has voted to divert the fund to pay for other government expenditures.

Nobody knows exactly where LWCF dollars have gone, but we do know that less than half of the intended funding has actually ended up in land protection. More than $19 billion of the LWCF has been spent on pork barrel construction projects, unnecessary government programs, and abandoned military hardware – but not the land and water protection the law intended.

Despite the diversion of funds, the LWCF has had some real successes. Over the last 50 years, LWCF has resulted in about $16 billion in funding nationwide, protecting everything from national forest wilderness lands to fishing access sites to urban parks. Over $400 million has gone to Montana projects. These funds have protected important lands in the Blackfoot Valley, on the Rocky Mountain Front, in the Greater Yellowstone region, and all over the state. LWCF has been used to acquire most of Montana’s fishing access sites as well as key parcels that open up large areas of “land-locked” public land for hunting and fishing.

LWCF has meant a lot for Montana. The fund has help provide communities across the state with new municipal pools, golf courses, tennis courts, baseball fields, town parks and trails. It’s also been used in Montana to preserve forest lands that help protect the water supplies that we depend on for drinking water and irrigation. LWCF is used to obtain public access sites to our rivers and public lands and has been crucial to protecting hunting, fishing, backpacking and every other outdoor activity that makes Montana such a great place to live. In addition to supporting our quality of life, the program has fueled the Treasure State’s $6 billion outdoor recreation economy.

Fortunately for us, both Senator Jon Tester and Senator Steve Daines have expressed support for LWCF, and they have both cosponsored Senate Bill 338, which permanently authorizes the program. That’s a great start. Senator Tester has gone a step further and also cosponsored Senate Bill 890, which both permanently authorizes the fund and locks in the $900 million in annual spending, protecting it from future budget raids.

Just imagine what we could accomplish if Congress stopped hijacking LWCF and allowed all of the funds to go to their intended purpose. With a 50 year track record, this program doesn’t need any debate, evaluation, or “reform.” The partially-funded LWCF has done great things for Montanans and all Americans. The time has come for our elected officials to restore full funding to LWCF.

Kathy Hadley lives in Deer Lodge. She is president of the Montana Wildlife Federation.
A version of this article appeared in the Helena IR. You can see that version here

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LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND

June 3, 2021September 16, 2015 by Guest Profile

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped secure nearly 70% of the fishing access sites in Montana.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been one of our nation’s most successful conservation programs. The program puts aside a portion of federal revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing to fund land conservation. Over the last 50 years, the LWCF has played a crucial role in protecting habitat and opening up public access.

In the 2016 fiscal year, LWCF funding could go a long way in continuing the legacy of Montana conservation. Projects that would benefit from funding include improvements to the High Divide Landscape of the continental divide – ensuring crucial wildlife corridors are kept open, watersheds are healthy and full of native fish, and access is maintained. Montana refuges are also slated to receive funding, keeping some of our most important wildlife habitat areas healthy and accessible for hunters, anglers, and other recreationists. In all, over $30 million from LWCF could go towards improvements and investments in Montana.

However, the federal law that created the LWCF is slated to expire this year. If Congress does not take action, the program will cease to operate. The pressure is on for reauthorization. Senator Jon Tester and Senator Steve Daines have both cosponsored Senate Bill 338, which permanently authorizes the LWCF. Senator Daines has already successfully pushed through an amendment that increases the fund’s current levels by $14 million to $306 million annually – if it is reauthorized. Senator Tester has gone a step further and also cosponsored Senate Bill 890 which both permanently authorizes the fund, and permanently returns it to its original $900 million annual levels.

With the clock ticking, Montana’s hunters, anglers, and other recreationists are watching to see if Congress can get the job done on reauthorizing the LWCF. Our state’s unmatched recreational access – and our $6 billion outdoor economy – depend on it.

MONTANA FAMILIES THRIVE ON PUBLIC LANDS

Land and Water Conservation Fund

Montana sportsmen: Utah lawmaker threatens the future of hunting and fishing

CONGRESS MUST STOP RAIDING LWCF

LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND

Jeff Lukas

Elk Campaign Manager