AMC Conservation Action Network News
November 1999

National Issues:

Land and Water Conservation Fund
Air Quality

Regional Issues:

Sterling Forest, NY Community Preservation, MA Highlands, NJ Maine Land Bond Bill

Land and Water Conservation Fund: Appropriations for 2000: Due to differences in the Interior Department Appropriations bill passed in the House and the version passed in the Senate, the bills must be reconciled by a conference committee which will determine the final appropriations bill for FY2000. The House recommended $30 million in stateside funding and $4 million for Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR), while the Senate offered only $20 million for stateside funding and $1.5 million for UPARR. It is possible that the President will veto the Interior Appropriations bill, if it remains at its current funding levels and does not more closely adhere to his recommendations from the Lands Legacy Initiative.

Legislation: There is interest within Congress to pass legislation that would fully and permanently fund LWCF and its programs (UPARR, Forest Legacy, etc.,). Full and permanent funding would mean that these programs would no longer need to be dragged through the annual budget making process, thus the legacy of LWCF would be on-going and perpetual. A host of different bills have been introduced to this effect and October is ending with a concerted effort by Representatives Young (R-AL) and Miller (D-CA) to find a compromise that meets the needs of both sides.

What you can do: Call your Representative and Senators at the Capitol switchboard 202-224-3121 or visit our Conservation Action Network at http://www.outdoors.org/Conservation and click on "act now." There's a sample  letter you can use as basis for connecting with Congress. * Urge your members of Congress to push the Appropriations committee chairs and members of the Conference committee to increase LWCF appropriations for next year.

* Push your representatives in Congress to do everything in their power to ensure that this year LWCF and its sister programs are fully and permanently funded. Ask talk about the importance of flexible funding, which allows states and localities to protect important natural, cultural, and recreational areas without creating or expanding federal ownership of land. Flexible funding promotes local control and partnerships that respect local values and priorities. It also provides a mechanism for protecting land within a region, such as the Northern Forest, the Highlands.

Air Quality: AMC joined the Environmental Defense Fund and others in a petition to the D.C. Circuit federal court, to intervene in support of EPA's regional haze rule. Over 20 years ago, congress set a goal to clean up the haze in specially designated "Class-I" National Parks and wilderness areas. When fully implemented, the haze rule should return these areas back to natural conditions within the next 50 years. The American Corn Growers, electric utilities and others challenged the rule in federal court in August. This effort to defeat air quality standards is similar to what happened with the air quality standards. Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine joined the intervention in support of the rule to protect the air in their respective wilderness and National Parks. The haze rule is of particular importance to these states, as they have Class I wilderness areas and national parks that would be protected under the rule. Other Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states with protected areas include Virginia (Shenandoah National Park), New Jersey (Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge), Tennessee (Great Smoky Mountains National Parks).

Regional News:

Sterling Forest, NY: Efforts are still underway to ensure the preservation of the last 2,200 acres of Sterling Forest. This parcel, which is eminently suitable for development, was not included when New York and New Jersey bought the land that now comprises the Sterling Forest State Park. This remaining parcel and the water rights of the entire 17,500 acres of New York's newest state park, provide clean drinking water for over two million New Jersey residents. However, a large housing development is planned on the land.

What you can do: Call or write to Governor Whitman and Governor Pataki and ask them to make Sterling Forest whole. You can contact these Governors via the web: http://www.outdoors.org/Conservation. Click on the "act now".

Community Preservation, MA: Every week in Massachusetts another 300 acres of open space is converted into housing, business or industrial land while existing buildings are ignored, abandoned or demolished. If the Community Preservation Act becomes law, communities throughout Massachusetts will be able to choose to increase real estate transfer taxes or to add a surcharge in the property taxes to protect open space, preserve historic heritage or create affordable housing. This act returns control to communities over local planning decisions.

What you can do:

1. Call or write your state representative by mid-November. Urge them to support the Community Preservation Act. To contact your Representative, call the State House Switchboard at 617-722-2000.
2. Highlight the special places in your community by sending in up to three photographs (4x6, 5x7, 8x10 or slides) of a special place (or places) in your town that is not permanently protected. Photographs with labels indicating your name, town and the location of the image should be sent to The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, 100 Cambridge St. 20th Floor, Boston, MA 02202 by November 12. These images will be part of a celebration of Community Preservation at the State House as part of an effort to raise awareness of the rich legacy of history and the beauty of the commonwealth.
3. Attend the Boston  Chapter Conservation Committee meeting on November 30, 1999 for the third in a three part series on Sprawl. This meeting will focus on Developing Urban Open Space and will feature Wig Zamore, Mystic View Site Task Force of S of Somerville, MA. 7 p.m. at the Parish of St. Paul, 1135 Walnut St, Newton Highlands. For information, contact Dave at dccbc@aol.com

Highlands, New Jersey: The New Jersey Planning Commission will consider designating the Highlands as an "area of critical concern". This recognition will call attention to the regions importance and to ensure that proper safeguards to protect its unique resources are incorporated into the Plan. This is especially important since the state increasingly uses the Plan as a guide for making important financing and planning decisions. Currently, urban sprawl is destroying critical areas in the Highlands, including water resources, forests, wildlife and biodiversity.

What you can do: Write to Joseph Maraziti, Chair, State Planning Commission, P.O. Box 204, Trenton, NJ 08620 in support of this designation.

For more information, contact highlands@njconservation.org or tgilbert@igc.org.

Maine Land Bond Bill: On November 2nd, Maine voters will have the chance to support a $50 million bond bill for land protection. This will fund the Land for Maine's Future Board, which has protected 66,000 acres throughout the state since the last bond act was funded in 1987. At this point, those funds have all been used. For this reason, the state has been unable to respond to the dramatic shifts in land ownership over the past year, when 4 million acres were for sale. The Land for Maine's Future program has protected among other places, the Nahmakanta tract, the Cutler Coast, Sebago Lake beach and Grand Lake stream over the past twelve years.

What you can do: Vote for this Land Bond bill. Encourage your friends and neighbors to vote for this as well.

Ruth Dinerman