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LWCF Grants - Promoting Conservation Principles
In
addition to these tangible accomplishments, the Fund program has had a
role in establishing or bolstering a number of key national conservation
policies:
First
among these is the principle of resource reinvestment. Most of
the income deposited to the Fund comes from offshore oil leasing revenues,
based on the idea of recycling the proceeds of natural resources development
back into natural resources protection. While a nonrenewable resource
is being used, renewable resources in the form of conservation and recreation
lands are increased and enhanced.
The
grants program has also emphasized a leadership role for states
- a full partnership with national and local governments in planning,
funding and providing nationwide recreation opportunities.
As a result of
this emphasis, states have:
- Made
firm commitments to outdoor recreation planning
- Established
and expanded their own scenic river trail and other systems
- Encouraged
their cities and counties to improve planning and development
of recreation resources
- Instigated
hundreds of recreational bond issues to fund state and local parks.
A
third principle, and one with major impact on long-term resource
protection, is the concept of a permanent, national recreation
estate. The LWCF Act requires that all property acquired or
developed with LWCF assistance be maintained perpetually in public
recreation use. This ensures that tens of thousands of outdoor sites
- at every level of government and in almost every county of the
United States - are recognized as continuing legacies that must
remain available, not just for today's citizens but for all future
generations of Americans.
See also:
Legal Protection for
Grant-Assisted Recreation Sites - Section 6(f)(3) of the LWCF Act
How States Plan and
Select Projects
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Last
Modified 9-19-08