Budgets for the four federal land management agencies—the Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and US Forest Service—have been declining since the early 2000s. As of 2018, these four agencies report an almost $20 billion maintenance backlog.

Energy Production

One key funding source is the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) that uses revenues from oil and gas extraction on public lands to fund federal public lands projects and provides public lands related grants for state and local organizations. This fund has supported projects in every county in the U.S. and has an average return of $4 in economic value on every dollar invested.

Although this fund is authorized to receive $900 million dollars each year and has strong bipartisan support, Congress has frequently diverted funds to the total of $22 billion. Fortunately, the LWCF received full and permanent funding under the Great American Outdoors Act that passed in 2020.

Much of the oil and gas extraction that funds the LWCF occurs on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, but it also includes offshore extraction. The cost of leasing and royalties for these operations has remained stagnate and is well below that of key energy states like Texas.

Currently, hardrock mining (e.g. copper, gold, silver) on public land does not pay leasing or royalties, and taxpayers front the bill to remediate abandoned mines.

Solar and wind are relatively new energy-producing players on public lands, and bills have been introduced to distribute revenues back to states and counties with some earmarked for conservation.

Hunting and fishing industry fund public land conservation. // Photo courtesy of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.

Outdoor Recreation

Outdoor recreation is an $887 billion industry and relies on access to and the infrastructure on our public lands to thrive. Hunting and fishing have long been funders of public land conservation.

The Pittman-Robertson Act (1937) and Dingell-Johnson Act (1950) levy a 3- to 12-percent tax on licenses and related sporting goods, including ammo and firearm sales, providing key funding for state wildlife agencies. However, the number of hunters in the U.S. has been decreasing since a peak in the ‘80s.

There is some evidence that this decrease may have stalled during COVID, as many states saw an increase in new hunters. But, just like federal agencies, state wildlife agencies are seeing annual deficits in the millions.

Talk of applying a similar tax to other outdoor recreation gear, from tents and kayaks to sleeping bags and backpacks, has been around for years but has received a lot of pushback from the outdoor recreation industry. Washington State has proposed HB 2122 that would put a 2/10 of one percent tax on outdoor equipment over $200, but that legislation seems to be on pause.

Surveys find that the vast majority of outdoor enthusiasts would approve of a small increase in equipment prices going to public lands. This new funding source would also be an opportunity to engage users in conservation before they step foot on a trail.

From rural jobs to fire mitigation to climate solutions, our public lands are more important than ever and need to be fully funded. Even before COVID-19, people were flocking to public lands in record numbers.

The recently introduced and strongly bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act looks to help with some of the ongoing budget shortfall and would help protect at-risk plant and wildlife species, but much more needs to be done. The incredible network of U.S. public lands that support wildlife diversity and outdoor recreation were set aside for the good of all Americans and deserve to be fully funded.

Learn more in the Public Lands Special Section archive, originally published in the September-October 2020 print edition.

[Feature photo by Aaron Theisen. // Okanogan Highlands]

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One of the hopes of conservation and recreation advocates and public land managers who fight for and manage our public lands and trails daily is that the COVID-spurred increase in public lands visitations will translate into more support for those lands. Lasting public support for future land, water, and wildlife conservation efforts as well as funding for the maintenance of our existing parks, trails, trailheads, and other recreation facilities and their management could be at least one positive outcome of the pandemic.   

A sign that we may be headed in that direction is the recent passage of the Great American Outdoors Act by a bi-partisan majority of the U.S. Senate. The legislation, which still needs the support of the U.S. House of Representatives before being signed by the president, which he has indicated he will do, could provide billions in needed deferred maintenance funds for our National Parks. Those funds would pay for things like trail and facility maintenance that have been neglected for years, and the bill would also provide permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

The LWCF is one of America’s most important conservation programs that’s been responsible for protecting parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands and trails across federal, state, and local levels for 50 years. The fund provides crucial funding for conservation and recreation projects as well as the historic preservation of iconic national landmarks, all without tapping into taxpayer coffers; the LWCF is instead exclusively funded from a small portion of revenues from offshore oil and gas royalty payments, which for years have not been making it to the LWCF as intended. The Great American Outdoors Act would put an end to Congressional poaching of these dollars meant for our public lands. 

This isn’t a time to be cynical and hold off on calling your representative because you think they hate nature. (Click here for a directory of U.S. Representatives.) This legislation has broad, bipartisan support from a wide range of outdoors lovers, from hunters, anglers, and ATV riders to bird watchers, mountain bikers, and backpackers, along with many other diverse user groups with varied political convictions. Call or email them regularly until this thing passes so those of us who love the outdoors can all have something big and positive to celebrate together. Learn more about our public lands and the LWCF here to help inform your comments to Congress: Lwcfcoalition.com.

Also, stay tuned for the next issue of Out There, our September/October issue, which will be our first annual Public Lands issue. Email me for public lands related story pitches, advertising inquiries, or to financially support our effort to make our first and hopefully annual Public Lands issue a reality.

Derrick Knowles is editor-in-chief and co-publisher. He has spent more than 30 years exploring the Inland Northwest’s trails, mountains, lakes, and rivers. He lives in Spokane with his wife, Shallan, co-publisher and visual editor of OTO, and their young son.

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