President Obama signed into law a surface transportation authorization bill, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century (MAP-21) Act, on July 6 after frenzied last days of negotiations from the House and Senate conference committee. The final package includes a provision that directs penalties from the BP oil spill towards Gulf coast restoration, but dropped funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund in the final negotiations, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. In addition, the bill includes a revamped Transportation Alternatives program that will affect state-based funding efforts for programs including recreational trails and wildlife passage.

RESTORE Act Included

The final bill dedicates 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill to Gulf coast restoration. The total amount could be between $5 billion and $20 billion depending on the final settlement in the case, and the money is not anticipated to flow to the states until next year. The five states in the Gulf region ? Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas ? will now be moving forward with plans for conservation initiatives. In Louisiana, a 50-year Coastal Master Plan that includes 109 projects designed to protect communities and protect the coastal ecosystem was approved by the state legislature in May of this year.

"Our priorities will be the implementation of that plan," said Garrett Graves, director of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. "Making an investment in ecosystem restoration, making other investments to improve the resiliencies of some of our coastal communities ? that's where we plan on prioritizing the (early) investments."

The RESTORE funding under the transportation bill will be divided into three primary allocations. Thirty-five percent of the total fines will be divided equally among all five Gulf states and their coastal parishes and counties as outlined in state restoration plans and 30 percent will be distributed to those states based on the spill's impact along the coastline.

The next 30 percent will be spent on larger projects for natural restoration along the entire Gulf Coast that would be determined by a new Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, made up of the five governors (or their designees), the secretaries of the Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security and Interior departments, the secretary of the Army and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Council will develop a plan within six months that is intended to incorporate findings of the Gulf Coast Restoration Task Force that drafted a Gulf of Mexico Regional Ecosystem Restoration Strategy released in late 2011; the final is due by the end of this year.

The remaining 5 percent will be directed towards research and divided equally between a new Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Science, Observation, Monitoring and Technology Program with assistance from the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and new "centers of excellence" such as universities and non-governmental agencies in each state that are doing research on coastal and deepwater issues.

LWCF Dropped

In last minute negotiations, however, a provision to fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for $700 million per year for the next two years, reauthorize the program through 2022, and dedicate 1.5 percent of LWCF funds for recreational access projects was dropped from the bill. The removal of the LWCF funds was a disappointment to the program's supporters that had rallied over 1,000 organizations in support of the transportation bill's provisions. In addition, 179 Republican and Democrat members of the House signed support letters urging transportation conferees to include the Senate-passed language for LWCF.

"Loss of access is the Number One reason that hunters and anglers stop pursuing our passions," said William H. Geer, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership climate change initiative manager. "Yet in addition to funding purchases that expand public access to hunting and fishing and conserving habitat for a range of fish and wildlife species, the Land and Water Conservation Fund is a valuable tool for ranching families and communities in maintaining the economic viability of some of America's most important working landscapes. Sportsmen urge Congress to change course and ensure that the LWCF is strongly funded?for the sake of our nation's lands, our economy and our outdoor traditions."

Ironically, poll results released on July 3 by The Nature Conservancy show that more than four in five of American voters of all political persuasions? Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Tea Party Patriots alike? say that "conserving our country's natural resources?our land, air and water?is patriotic." Three-quarters of the American electorate say that "one of the things our government does best" is protecting its "history and natural beauty through national parks, forests and other public lands."

Transportation Alternatives

Other provisions within the final transportation bill include a revamping of state- and local-based programs using transportation funding. The Transportation Enhancements program from previous bills was redesigned as the Transportation Alternatives and a number of programs including trails, scenic byways, wildlife passages and more will be funded under this category. Within the final bill is a set allocation of $85 million each year for the Recreational Trail Program. However, trails advocates state that the overall allocation to these Transportation Alternatives is 30 percent less than was available under previous highway bills and there will be more programs competing for the limited dollars.

The Transportation Alternatives does include specific language for projects that would "reduce vehicle-caused wildlife mortality or to restore and maintain connectivity among terrestrial or aquatic habitats." In addition, the definition of "Highway Safety Improvement Project" ? and what projects qualify for funding ? includes the "addition or retrofitting of structures or? other measures to eliminate or reduce crashes involving vehicles and wildlife."

"Wildlife crossings, underpasses and overpasses, are proof positive that we have solutions," said Dr. Tony Clevenger, a research ecologist at Western Transportation Institute and a founder of an interdisciplinary partnership called ARC ? Animal Road Crossing. "And now we have the needed direction from Congress to pursue these solutions with more vigor." (jas)