Obama administration officials and lawmakers celebrated Wednesday the 50th anniversary of a pair of laws that set aside wilderness areas and provide conservation funding.
Officials took the opportunity of the anniversary to pressure Congress to renew the Land and Water Conservation Fund, whose authorization will soon run out. Wednesday was also the birthday of the Wilderness Act, which provides the means for designating wilderness areas and protecting them from development. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell celebrated the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson signing the laws with a speech at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey.
“It was one of the most amazing days for conservation in the history of this country. Probably the most amazing day,” Jewell said.
Great Swamp was the first wilderness area designated under the act, and more than 100 million acres followed.
Jewell said the United States has learned a great deal about the importance of preserving old-growth forests, especially for the species that live there.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund takes money from fees on offshore oil and gas drilling and gives it to various conservation and recreation efforts. New Jersey Reps. Rush Holt (D), Leonard Lance (R) and Rodney Frelinghuysen (R) have all endorsed renewing it.
“It’s going to need reauthorization and I’m sure our three members of Congress who are up here are going to make sure that this Congress takes a step in the right direction with full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund,” Jewell said...
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Dang, I wasn't invited to the celebration. I see it was held in New Jersey, where the feds only own 176,00 acres, or 3.7% of the state. Here's my suggestion to Congress and especially to those R's in NJ: Spend the entire $900 million each and every year from the LWCF to acquire land in New Jersey, then pass laws to designate all acquired lands as Wilderness. Then 50 years from now, let's see what kind of a celebration they host.
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