Bishop LWCF Reform Bill

[Chuckle]

http://naturalresources.house.gov/UploadedFiles/PARC_Act_Discussion_Draft_110515.pdf

Rep. Bishop (R-UT), Chair of House Natural Resources Committee, released a discussion draft of his LWCF reform bill.

Components:
1) reauthorizes fund at $900 million for seven years
2) Increases stateside portion to 45%
3) $2 million to cities for recreational facilities
4) Limits federal land acquisition to 3.5%, and only for lands adjacent to existing federal lands.
5) No more than 15% of acquired lands may be west of 100th meridian (ND, SD, OK, TX).
6) 20% of fund goes to offshore energy production promotion and permitting.
7) 3.5% goes to federal land maintenance backlog.
8) 15% to counties for Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT).
9) Forest Legacy funds restricted to no more than 3.5% and must be used to improve vehicular and recreational access to forested lands.

 

[Ben Lamb]

The bill would effectively gut the program in the west, where it is used the most.

Here's BHA & MWF's press release:

http://montanawildlife.org/montana-...-threatens-the-future-of-hunting-and-fishing/

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.”

 

[NoWiser]

I wish someone would kick this Bishop guy right in the junk.

 

[Oneye]

Just renewed my Backcountry hunters and Anglers memberships for 3 years. And yes Bishops a real POS.

 

[Ben Long]

If BIshop had his way, projects like Tenderfoot Creek and the Montana Legacy Project would never have happened. The dude is bad news for habitat, access, opportunity. Let's see who has the swagger on the Hill to say so.