Congress gave outdoor lovers a lot to celebrate this summer when it passed the Great American Outdoors Act, which provides full and permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and $9.5 billion for much-needed maintenance on federal public lands.
For almost 60 years, LWCF has protected outdoor treasures in every state in the country, including within the four-state Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, a watershed-based refuge that stretches 410 miles from Vermont and New Hampshire south to Massachusetts and Connecticut.
These special places are havens for wildlife, refuges for people of all backgrounds and abilities, assets for local businesses and outdoor classrooms for our children to get off their screens and back in touch with the natural world.
Established in 1964, LWCF uses a portion of revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to protect lands and waters in every state for future generations.
The Great American Outdoors Act, which was signed into law on Aug. 4, will dedicate $900 million in offshore oil and natural gas royalties to LWCF annually, the full amount the program is authorized to receive by law. The $900 million will automatically go to LWCF rather than having lawmakers decide how much LWCF should get as a part of the annual appropriations process, a process that for decades has underfunded the program.
As representatives of the Friends of Conte, a coalition of more than 70 public and private organizations working together to strengthen the health of the Connecticut River watershed, we know firsthand how critical LWCF funding has been to the watershed. Iconic places saved right here in the Connecticut River Valley in the last decade demonstrate the importance of this funding.
In Longmeadow, the Fannie Stebbins Unit of the Conte Refuge was created with the transfer of 100 acres from Fannie Stebbins Wildlife Refuge, Inc. to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The remainder of the Stebbins land was transferred to The Nature Conservancy, which has just completed an extensive restoration project, including planting more than 8,000 trees and shrubs with funds provided by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Now that it is restored, this land is the largest unfragmented area of natural floodplain vegetation in the Connecticut River Watershed and will soon become part of the Conte Refuge. The Appalachian Mountain Club, a leader of the LWCF Coalition, built a paddler’s campsite there in 2019.
In Hadley, the award winning universal access nature trail off Moody Bridge Road in the 300-acre Fort River Division of the Conte Refuge welcomes over 30,000 visitors a year to enjoy the stunning vistas of protected grasslands and farmland that extend to the Mount Holyoke Range, an area that Kestrel Land Trust has been working on conserving for two decades with US Fish and Wildlife Service, the town, and other public agencies.
In Leverett, the 3,486-acre Paul C Jones Working Forest on Brushy Mountain is now permanently protected for sustainable forestry, hunting, fishing, and backcountry exploration through the federal Forest Legacy Program, which also derives its funding from LWCF. Kestrel is working on a second Forest Legacy project with WD Cowls and Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, which is nearing completion to protect over 2,000 acres of working forest in Shutesbury and Pelham.
In Northampton, the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail (currently 51 miles, and when complete will extend 104 miles to connect with the T outside Boston), received $250,000 in LWCF state-side funds in 2013 for the development of a .35-mile rail-trail section on the Mill River Greenway, which ultimately serves seven municipalities, four universities and a major federal agency, within easy access of 70% of Northampton’s population for both recreation and commuting.
The New England National Scenic Trail, which stretches 215 miles from Connecticut through Massachusetts, over the Mount Holyoke Range, to the New Hampshire border, will now have more opportunity to draw from LWCF to support the National Park Service and Appalachian Mountain Club’s efforts to make this trail accessible to people from urban and rural parts of our Valley. This builds on previous investments in protecting and expanding access to the trail through LWCF-funded Forest Legacy projects.
Currently, there are 13 projects, covering 1,188 acres, valued at over $3.5 million in Massachusetts in need of funding from LWCF. Throughout the watershed there are a total of 42 projects, covering 8,345 acres, valued at $17.4 million. Beyond these projects are municipal open space, trails, and parks in need of stateside LWCF funding.
We are so fortunate to have true champions of LWCF here in the commonwealth. Reps. Jim McGovern and Richard Neal along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey have all been longstanding supporters of LWCF, and we are so appreciative of their leadership and support.
America is losing natural areas and forest cover at an alarming rate, and New England is no exception. The importance of natural areas that people can access has never been felt so acutely as now, during the pandemic. That is why we are deeply grateful for congressional leadership to protect the vital lands and waters that sustain us
This guest column is written on behalf of the Friends of Conte Executive Committee. Markelle Smith represents The Nature Conservancy; Kristin DeBoer, Kestrel Land Trust; and Kristen Sykes, Appalachian Mountain Club.