For Immediate Release

September 28, 2000

CONFERENCE PANEL BOOSTS CONSERVATION BUDGET;
LARGEST INCREASE EVER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A House-Senate conference committee has adopted a proposal by U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks [D-Wash.] that will double federal land acquisition and preservation spending next year and establish a trust-fund land conservation initiative over the next six years.

            "This is the largest increase in conservation programs funding ever approved by Congress," said Rep. Dicks, the ranking Democratic member of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. "It builds upon the Clinton Administration’s Lands Legacy Initiative, and also includes many elements of the Conservation and Re-investment Act of 2000, which was passed by a large majority in the House in May," Dicks said.

            The new program will raise federal spending for land acquisition, conservation, historic preservation, coastal fisheries, urban parks, historic preservation and related activities to $1.6 billion annually in the next year, increasing over the next five years to $2.4 billion by 2006, Rep. Dicks said. Funds are to be appropriated within these specific accounts by the House and Senate through the annual appropriations process, but they cannot be spent on other purposes, Dicks noted.

            The conference committee approved the new initiative within the $19 billion Interior Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2001, which will be sent to both Houses of Congress for final approval early next week.

            Included in the new initiative is authority for the expenditure of $100 million annually for the West Coast Salmon recovery programs, "which should greatly increase the ability of Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska to address threatened and endangered salmon runs," Dicks said. This year a total of $80 million in federal funding was spent in those four states for salmon recovery activities.

            "This is a major victory for the Clinton-Gore Administration and it represents a real consensus to move forward to acquire, preserve and maintain precious park lands and open spaces in America," said Rep. Dicks. "It addresses the need for the government to continue to provide recreational opportunities at a time of urban expansion and population growth," he added.

            He also said that the committee has addressed the maintenance backlog in national parks and public lands by establishing –for the first time ever – a maintenance account in the trust fund.

[A table listing the projected spending in the new trust-fund accounts follows:]

Land Conservation, Preservation and Infrastructure Improvement Trust
Adopted Sept. 28th by Interior Appropriations Conference Committee

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