Conservation fund may get extended

Members of Montana’s Congressional delegation and state conservation and sportsman groups gave tepid support for a temporary extension of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund on Wednesday.

Included near the end of the more than 2,000-page federal spending bill — unveiled early Wednesday morning following negotiations between House Republicans and the White House — is a provision that would reauthorize the fund through September 2018.

It also provides $450 million in funding for the next fiscal year, an increase of $144 million over the past two years’ funding.

On Sept. 30, Congress failed to reauthorize the fund for the first time since it was originally signed into law in 1965. The program used federal royalties from offshore oil and gas leases to fund conservation, land access and land acquisition projects throughout the country.

Montana conservation groups including the Montana Wildlife Federation and Businesses for Montana’s Outdoors praised the reauthorization of the program on Wednesday while urging Congress to go further.

“Though temporary reauthorization and partial funding are welcome, many Montana hunters and anglers want Congress to permanently reauthorize the LWCF and fully fund the program,” the Montana Wildlife Federation and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers said in a joint news release.

Montana’s federal representatives have similarly argued for full funding — $900 million per year — as well as a permanent reauthorization.

“LWCF remains one of the best ways to increase public access to public lands, and for months I’ve been hearing from Montanans about the importance of permanent reauthorization and full funding,” U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a statement. “While I’m relieved that LWCF may be revived, this temporary authorization and short-term funding misses the mark in what should have been an easy bullseye.”

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., also hailed the reauthorization while chastising Congress for the midnight release of the spending bill, noting that representatives have less than three days to read it.

A vote on the bill is expected Friday.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has similarly argued for a permanent reauthorization of the program.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has supported an estimated $540 million in conservation projects in Montana during the past 50 years.

Reporter Sam Wilson may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.