It’s no secret that Rep. Rob Bishop’s bill to overhaul the Land and Water Conservation fund is a disaster for our national parks and forests.
What was a secret until today is that Rep. Bishop, whose overhaul would severely curtail land management agencies’ abilities to acquire and protect lands across the West, very recently wanted the federal government to acquire and protect land in his own district.
John Zaker / USFWS
E&E’s Phil Taylor just revealed that in 2009, Bishop requested $500,000 for the government to buy private lands in Utah’s Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. (Story is paywalled.) The refuge is located inside Bishop’s district.
As Bishop knows, LWCF is a vital way for the government to acquire and protect private lands from willing sellers in wildlife refuges like Bear River. E&E notes:
About 2,800 acres at Bear River have been acquired using LWCF funds, including over 2,000 in the past five years alone, according to the National Wildlife Refuge Association.
Such purchases would be greatly curtailed under Bishop’s bill to reform LWCF.
“Greatly curtailed” is being generous. Under Bishop’s proposal, only 3.5 percent of LWCF funds could go to protect inholdings in our national lands, and of that 3.5 percent, no more than 15 percent could be spent in the West. (Quick math: 3.5% √ó 15% = 0.5% of all LWCF funds each year.)
Once you look past Bishop’s hypocrisy, you see that he had the right idea back in 2009. The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was established by purchasing lands from willing sellers at market rates. Millions of migratory birds make their way there each year, including bald eagles and tundra swans. A wildlife education center features exhibits about the wetlands, and a 12-mile road provides easy access through the refuge.
USFWS
It’s currently hunting season in the refuge—sportsmen and fishermen enjoy several areas throughout the fall. That access would be severely limited without the land that LWCF has protected in the refuge over the years. In just two days last week, biologists recorded 42 different bird species, including 26 thousand Northen pintail, and 16 thousand green-winged teal. Raptors included harriers, hawks, and kestrel.
Bear River is a textbook example of why both land acquisition and LWCF work, and why they are needed in the future. A recent CWP analysis shows that 1.6 million acres remain inside our national parks that could be protected using LWCF. That number doesn’t include refuges like Bear River, which is managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Before Rep. Bishop holds a hearing on his bill next week, we suggest he make a visit to Bear River and consider what he’s trying to do to our country’s—and his district’s—greatest treasures.
Photo: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge / John Zaker / USFWS, CC-BY 2.0