A panel comprised of 17 conservation and outdoor recreation leaders recently released "Great Outdoors America?Report of the Outdoor Resources Review Group." The report is a set of recommendations, along with extensive background information, aimed at preserving the nation's outdoor resources, and is available for download on the Great Outdoors America website. Senators Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee were the honorary co-chairs for the undertaking, which was accomplished last more than 20 years ago and resulted in a 1987 report.

Much has changed in America since the 1987 report, including that the country's population has increased by 64 million people. Such issues as childhood obesity, nature deficit disorder, climate change and the ecological impacts of renewable energy development were barely recognized then, if at all.

One of the primary factors driving preparation of the current report is the substantial lack of funding allocated to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for many years. Given prevailing concern about the federal budget deficit, many are worried about future levels of support. At its peak in 1977, the LWCF was funded at $900 million for the year. Adjusted for inflation, that translates to $3.2 billion in today's dollars. The fiscal year appropriation for the LWCF in 2008 was slightly above $255 million.

"We believed that timing is good now to make these recommendations with the hope that that they will help form a basis for the new administration's conservation policy and be factored into future federal budgets," said Steve Williams, President of the Wildlife Management Institute and a member of the Review Group. "In addition, the authorizing legislation for the Land and Water Conservation Fund is due to expire in 2015 and it is very important that it be recognized by Congress as an effective mechanism to deliver conservation in the country."

One of the recommendations in the report is funding the LWCF at the highest historically authorized level adjusted for inflation ($3.2 billion in today's dollars). Royalties and fees from renewable and nonrenewable energy development are identified as potential sources of revenue for the?LWCF.

Also recommended in the report is emphasizing public and private partnerships to foster conservation efforts and elevating the priority for regional and landscape-level conservation projects, including funds to mitigate ecological impacts of any federal programs directed at greenhouse gas reduction. Another recommendation is improving planning and cooperation across federal agencies, with the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission identified as a good model to enhance coordination. (pmr)