Environmental
causes gaining
ground in D.C.

Three bills would
boost conservation funds,
particularly for Hawaii

By Pete Pichaske
Phillips News Service

WASHINGTON -- An increasingly environmentally conscious Congress appears ready to set aside large sums of money this year to protect sensitive areas, and Hawaii would be one of the big beneficiaries.

"The momentum is there," said Joan Moody of Defenders of Wildlife, one of the many national conservation groups pushing for more federal money for conservation. "We think definitely something will happen this year."

The Clinton Administration already has proposed two major environmental initiatives, including the $1 billion "land-legacy initiative" that would add thousands of acres to America's parks and protected areas.

Yesterday, two California Democrats introduced a more far-reaching initiative in Congress that would guarantee generous annual funding for expanding parks and preserving and restoring historic sites, oceans and wildlife resources.

Hawaii Rep. Patsy Mink is one of the House bill's 35 co-sponsors.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. George Miller, is one of three in Congress aimed at freeing more federal money for environmentally sensitive land. It is the most generous of the three, but typical in that it would funnel a disproportionate share of money to Hawaii.

The Boxer-Miller bill would add $37.5 million to Hawaii's allotment of federal land and water conservation money -- more than all but 20 states, and one of the highest per-capita shares in the nation.

Hawaii's generous allotment is due to its status as one of the most environmentally threatened states.

A recent report from Defenders of Wildlife and the National Biological Service, for example, rated Hawaii, California and Florida as the three states with the most endangered ecosystems. The report called the isles "an ecological disaster."

Miller's administrative aide agreed that while the Boxer-Miller initiative is unlikely to pass Congress this year, some form of added conservation funding is likely to be adopted. "There's a consciousness for this sort of initiative," said Daniel Weiss. "George is very optimistic."

The spate of environmental initiatives, including Clinton's, are aimed mostly at dipping deeper into a fund that has been largely ignored since it was set up in 1965 with revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund was created to provide a steady stream of money -- up to $900 million a year -- to buy land for preservation.

But no more than a third of the available money has ever been appropriated for that purpose. And most years, a lot less was used, leading to a backlog of projects.

The Boxer-Miller bill would guarantee full funding every year, not subject to the whims of the president or Congress.

The money could be used for a long list of park and wildlife refuge expansions. The National Park Service alone has a list of hundreds of priority expansions, including four in Hawaii that could be expected to top the list of additions in the isles.

Those four are:

Nine tracts totaling 407 acres at Haleakala National Park, with a value of $1.5 million;

1,950 acres at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, valued at $4 million;

72 acres at Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Maui, valued at $1.1 million; and

26 acres at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park on the Big Island, valued at $20.1 million.

Even last year, Congress indicated an increased willingness to approve a more generous land preservation program. A bipartisan proposal focusing on coastal areas was introduced in both the Senate and the House.

It failed when environmentalists argued that the plan would encourage offshore oil drilling.