Land and Water Fund goes dormant overnight

For the first time in 50 years since its passage, Congress has not reauthorized the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Originally authorized in 1965, the fund uses federal royalties from off-shore drilling leases to finance conservation, access and land acquisition projects throughout the country.

A last-ditch attempt to extend authorization for the program for 60 days was introduced in the Senate Wednesday, but failed to receive the required unanimous consent vote for approval. It stopped collecting new royalties at midnight Wednesday.

Conservation organizations, sportsman groups and representatives for the outdoor industry lined up in support of the program, but it expired after its reauthorization was left out of the continuing resolution to fund the federal government through Dec. 11.

David Landstrom, the regional Montana State Parks manager for Northwest Montana, said the fund has played an invaluable role in public recreation facilities in the region over the years.

“It’s really a blow as a funding source not only to acquisition but to development of public recreation facilities,” Landstrom said. “Pretty much every public recreation provider in the state has benefited substantially over the decades” from the fund.

Focusing on the benefits the fund has had to increased public land access in Montana and the importance of the state’s recreation industry, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a Wednesday morning media call that he was disappointed the program was not included in the federal budget bill.

“Congress needs to stop these irresponsible games and really focus on the things that create jobs in this country,” he said. “I’d argue it’s the most important conservation tool we have and it certainly has a huge impact on Montana.”

The program has helped to conserve an estimated $540 million throughout the state since it was enacted, according to state officials. Tester stressed that Montana’s public lands and recreational opportunities are a powerful recruitment tool for businesses and professionals. He vowed to fight for a long-term, if not permanent, extension to the program, and noted he would pursue other avenues, including amending it into must-pass legislation.

“My style has been to work with people to get things done, but the truth is that if people are going to cut the legs out from a program that really helps drive Montana’s economy, we’re going to have to do stuff like hold bills and make life tough for them,” the senior senator said.

While conservation organizations, sportsman groups and state politicians, including Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, have stumped for the program’s salvation, it’s not without its critics.

Late last week, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, issued a statement accusing current management of the program as being skewed toward federal land acquisition, rather than public land access.

Julia Slingsby, a spokeswoman for the committee, elaborated on that stance in an interview Wednesday. When it was initially enacted, she said more than half the funds were directed toward state and local conservation and access programs, but in recent years a majority of the funds has been disbursed for federal land acquisition.

“Chairman Bishop has a big problem with that, because right now the federal government can’t manage the lands that it has currently, so why would we give them more taxpayer money for more lands that it will not be able to maintain and take care of?” Slingsby asked.

Tester’s counterpart in the Senate, Steve Daines, R-Mont., was not available for comment but a spokeswoman wrote in an email that he supports permanent reauthorization of the fund. His office added that the program still has $20 billion in unappropriated funds, and will remain funded at 2015 levels.

Montana’s freshman Congressman, Republican Ryan Zinke, sits on the House committee and said Monday that the program isn’t perfect, but that he supports a temporary reauthorization and focused his critique on what he said is a lack of transparency in how the federal fund is operated.

“I think the taxpayers deserve some transparency about where that money’s being spent and where the revenue comes from,” Zinke said in an interview Monday. “From the standpoint of the Gulf states ... part of the revenue stream is a little tilted toward offshore drilling and the benefit is tilted toward Montana and other states that don’t have the same challenges offshore.”

Zinke said he expects the Natural Resources Committee to hold a round of hearings next spring to discuss possible reforms, but in the meantime he wants to see the program reauthorized.

“I’ve been a long supporter of it,” he said. “I know how much the fund has benefited Montana and the Western states, and I’ve been a very useful tool — particularly in improving public access.”

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