Where are you going for the 4th of July this year? Hiking the western North Carolina Mountains, where you could go for a hike up Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Mississippi)? Camping in the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area of the Pisgah National Forest? You could plan on spending the day trout fishing with friends in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Or, you could always take a drive up to the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway to picnic with family and friends while taking in the breathtaking mountain vistas.
For those drawn to the coast instead, a similar few hours’ drive in the other direction will allow you to walk on the beach and climb the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge provides the opportunity to see wildlife such as black bear and red wolves. If you’re a history buff you could be planning to check out Fort Raleigh National Historic site and see the first English settlements in the New World.
Maybe you and your family can’t get away for a long trip and are planning to enjoy more of a “staycation” this year, to take in the beauty of our own region. You might choose to spend the day at the Badin Lake Recreation Area in the Uwharrie National Forest boating or fishing, or you could go for a long weekend backpacking on the Uwharrie Trail cooking dinner by camp stove and spotting wildflowers, turkey and deer. Maybe you’ll spend time at a local county park, where you could grill out as a family and let kids play on a playground.
These and so many other places are here for our enjoyment because of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Whether you’re a hiker, a hunter, or a history buff, you should be grateful for this federal program that has made special places like this available for public use all over our country.
This program derives its funding not from taxes, but from royalties paid by private gas companies who are extracting publicly owned oil and minerals from federal waters in the outer continental shelf. The program was created in 1964 and the public policy justifying use of these royalties for public parks across the country was that it would offset the risk posed to our natural resources by drilling primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. The federal government receives in excess of $3 billion from offshore oil leases each year, and LWCF has been authorized to receive up to $900 million of that. Recent years have seen dramatic diversions by Congress of these funds for other federal spending.
LWCF supports the acquisition of land and conservation easements to protect important game lands, national parks, trails, historic monuments, watershed protection, recreational access, vital forestland and resources. In addition, it provides funds to states for local and state parks (including swimming pools, baseball fields, and parking lots), many of which are in our own neighborhoods. (You can find out where exactly LWCF monies have benefited your community at http://waso-lwcf.ncrc.nps.gov/public/index.cfm).
When the program is explained to citizens, it enjoys broad support across political ideologies. (A recent poll showed 86% of citizens polled support using offshore oil royalties to provide public lands onshore.) In fact, both of North Carolina’s Senators and both of our local legislators (Rep. Coble and Rep. Kissell) have supported various bills to try to keep the intended LWCF funds from being diverted to other causes. They understand that public lands in North Carolina are loved by our citizens, and are an important part of our economy. In fact, use of our public lands are estimated to contribute $7.5 billion annually to the North Carolina’s economy, support 95,000 jobs in the state, and generate $430 million in annual state tax revenue. More than 3.4 million people participate in hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching in North Carolina, including many who bring their dollars with them from other states.
Whether you like to fish, hunt, hike, bird watch, kayak, camp, visit historic sites, play ball at local parks, or even just keep your state taxes lower, you benefit from the LWCF. There is no better time than Independence Day to visit a special public place made possible by LWCF, and be thankful for what most Americans agree has been a wildly successful government program. You can learn more about LWCF at www.WhyWeLoveLWCF.org.
