This is the third in a series of posts about the Land and Water Conservation fund, which is set to expire in September 2015 unless Congress takes action. Previously: How LWCF invests in American cities
It’s been nearly two years since the historic flooding of September 2013 caused $2.9 billion in damage to communities along Colorado’s Front Range. But significant progress has been made on recovery, thanks to resources and funding from a variety of sources like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Small Business Administration, and the national flood insurance program.
But another federal program is quietly helping these communities recover: the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
LWCF is perhaps best known as a popular parks funding program, and it has protected more than 40,000 recreation sites, urban parks, and national public lands throughout its nearly 50-year history.
But an often-overlooked role that LWCF funds can play is the restoration of our lands and waters. In Colorado, the 2013 flooding caused major damage not just to homes and businesses, but also to the outdoors. In the city of Longmont alone, infrastructure damage totaled $132 million. As the city managed testified:
What took us 20 years to build in terms of our parks and greenways took two days to be destroyed.
LWCF is helping to restore the rivers, streams, wetlands, trails, parks, and other areas in Colorado’s Front Range that were destroyed or damaged by the floods. One example is the city of Lyons, which will use LWCF grants to reconstruct and expand a trail that was destroyed by the flood, according to our conversations with the National Park Service.
This isn’t the first time that Colorado has been the recipient of LWCF funds for restoration. Indeed, after the 1976 Big Thompson flood, over $1 million from LWCF (along with other grants) were used to acquire 80 properties along the river. According to Colorado Trout Unlimited, this:
… helped provide closure and compensation to families who had lost their homes while providing new outdoor recreation opportunities to residents and visitors on 156 acres of land along the river highlighted by four new county parks…In the years thereafter, the parks proved popular for sightseers, picnickers and anglers.
Numerous other restoration projects have been or could be funded by LWCF, including the Florida Everglades and salmon and duck habitat.
But unless Congress acts, LWCF—which is funded by non-taxpayer dollars derived from a tiny portion of offshore oil drilling revenues—will expire in September.