Fund is important for conservation, outdoor recreation

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The Land and Water Conservation Fund is an important source of federal funding that has been used to protect the public spaces that South Carolinians care about. LWCF is funded by royalties on oil and gas drilling offshore, not taxpayer dollars, and has spent more than $295 million in all 46 South Carolina counties. But we are in danger of losing the program forever.

Waterfront Park in downtown Charleston, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and Francis Marion National Forest are some of the places in the Lowcountry where LWCF investment is enjoyed by the public. The old-growth forests of Congaree National Park and clear, cool streams of Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area in the Upstate are tangible public reminders of the contributions that LWCF brings to the quality of life in South Carolina.

It is no surprise the LWCF has been a success and had support in a state full of people who enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking and being outside. We need to communicate that support clearly to decision makers in Washington. LWCF expired Sept. 30, and without Congressional action, we won't ever get it back.

In South Carolina, the Open Space Institute is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to use LWCF dollars to protect the forests, rivers and wildlife that make our state special. OSI and the U.S. Forest Service are protecting hundreds of acres in the Long Cane District of Sumter National Forest, located between Edgefield and North Augusta, S.C., in the Savannah River watershed, to protect water quality and increase publicly available recreation lands. Protected acreage in the Savannah watershed means cleaner water for the 1.5 million people downstream who rely on the Savannah River for drinking.

LWCF is a cornerstone grant program that helps build and protect parks, sensitive cultural sites and wildlife habitats. With LWCF help, OSI and the Forest Service protected 340 acres of land surrounding the historic Brick Church at Wambaw in Francis Marion National Forest, which has stood in Charleston County since 1768 and is open to the public. LWCF funds also supported an OSI partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the 115-acre, now-public Pappy's Island on the Intracoastal Waterway, in the heart of the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.

All of this on-the-ground conservation success in South Carolina is in spite of the fact that LWCF has been chronically underfunded (more than half its intended funds have been diverted to other, unknown purposes) and has now been allowed to expire. Much like these important places around South Carolina, once it's lost, we might not have the ability to get it back. Without action from Congress, that's exactly what could happen.

In the U.S. House, there is a bill that would permanently reauthorize the LWCF that has nearly 240 bipartisan cosponsors - including three from the South Carolina delegation (Republicans Tom Rice, Mark Sanford and Joe Wilson).

But even with that kind of bipartisan support, and even though LWCF is hanging by a thread, the bill hasn't made it up for a vote. And while this bill would be an important first step, further legislation is needed to dedicate funding for LWCF so that it is no longer diverted away from conservation.

There is also legislation pending in the House and Senate dedicating the funding LWCF was promised over 50 years ago, and we need to honor that commitment, especially as Congress is considering dedicating oil and gas revenues for new uses.

The land, water, wildlife and people of South Carolina deserve continued protection, and LWCF has a proven track record of success. Rep. Sanford publicly called on his colleagues in Washington to act earlier this week at a Conservation Voters of South Carolina press conference in Charleston. We need the residents of South Carolina to make the same request. Please take a moment to reach out to your representative and senator, and let them know that LWCF is important to you and the future of outdoor recreation in South Carolina.