BOISE — A coalition of 20 national conservation groups are marking the 25th anniversary of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund by calling on Congress to finance land acquisitions at; 20 Idaho locations.
In a report issued Thursday, the coalition lists the South Fork of the Snake River in eastern Idaho, the federally designated Wild and Scenic portion of the Salmon River in central Idaho and a stretch of the Owyhee River in southwestern Idaho among sites that should be purchased in fiscal 1991 with money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Betsy Buffington, regional associate for The Wilderness Society at Boise, said the parcels should be made public property in recognition of their ecological importance.
“Acquisition of these areas will preserve and protect critical wildlife habitat, blue-ribbon trout streams and recreational access, the qualities that make Idaho such a special place,” Buffington said. “Anyone who cares about wildlife and recreation in this state should speak up before these opportunities are lost.”
The Wilderness Society and the Idaho Conservation league compiled the recommendations for land acquisitions in Idaho as part of the report identifying areas in 47 states, the District of Columbia and four territories that the groups contend are threatened by development.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund, consisting mostly of revenue from offshore oil drilling, was created by Congress in 1965 as a way of ensuring part of the income from federal resource development is invested to benefit the environment.
Up to $900 million a year may be appropriated from the fund, but the conservation groups that issued Thursday’s report said appropriations have averaged $230 million a year over the past decade.
The groups are recommending a $799 million allocation for land acquisitions during the federal spending year that begins Oct. 1, plus $200 million to be matched by states and local governments for recreation projects.
Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan has indicated his opposition to appropriations at that level. Sen. Steve Symms, R-Idaho, and others have called the coalition’s proposal to create an American Heritage Trust account to increase federal purchases to $1 billion a year an attempt at a government “land grab.”
“During the fund’s silver anniversary, we should be bold enough to invest the $1 billion proposed in 1987 by President Reagan’s Commission on Americans Outdoors,” said Wilderness Society President George T. Frampton Jr. “Every day there is less open space left in America, and unless we act quickly, many of the natural treasures our report recommends for purchase will be gobbled up by subdividers and other speculators.”
In Idaho, the report recommends allocating $200,000 to purchase 500 acres along the Big Wood River, $250,000 for 28 acres on Blackwell Island, $420,000 for 280 acres in the Bowen Canyon “area of critical environmental concern,” $5.47 million for 400 acres of private land within the Challis National Forest and $1 million for 6,000 acres near the City of Rocks National Reserved.
Also recommended are $430,000 for 170 acres in the Clearwater National Forest, $2.84 million for 7,077 in the Hells Canyon National Recreational Area, $1.2 million for 2,369 in the Lower Salmon River corridor, $310,000 for 107 acres along the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River, $72,000 for 240 acres at the North Fork Crossing and $1.32 million for 240 acres along the Owyhee River.
The report also recommends providing $1.96 million for 163 acres along the Wild and Scenic portion of the Salmon River, $.1.2 million for 8,000 acres in the Sands Elk area, $2.5 million for 300 acres within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, $4.39 million for 196 acres in the Selway-Bitteroot Wilderness and $153,000 for 359 acres in the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area.
In addition, it calls for allocating $1.75 million for 1,700 acres along the South Fork of the Snake River, $12,000 for three acres in the Spring Gulch area of critical environmental concern, $5.64 million for 887 acres in the Targhee National Forest and $2,000 for 40 acres in the Vineyard Creek area of critical environmental concern.
This story was published in the Feb. 4, 1990, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.
