The local Susquehanna Group of the Sierra Club will host national speaker Vicky Hoover who calls for Congressional action to extend the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Hoover will speak on Tuesday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. in Science Building 3, Room 214 on the Binghamton University Campus.
“I cannot over-emphasize the importance of the LWCF in preserving our public spaces,” said Vicky Hoover, chair of the Sierra Club’s LWCF Reauthorization Task Force. “The Fund has helped to protect land in 98 percent of U.S. counties and supported millions of jobs in the outdoor recreation and tourism industries. The fund uses no taxpayer dollars instead it is funded by oil and gas development royalties.”
In Broome County alone, the LWCF has resulted in grants totaling over $3.5 million between 1966 and 2011. During this time, 23 local parks and projects benefited from the Fund, including Nathaniel Cole, Dorchester, Greenwood, Chenango Valley, C.F.J., Port Dickinson, George W. Johnson, Highland, and Stow (now Cheri A. Lindsey) Parks. In addition, the Susquehanna and Chenango River Trail received financial support from the Fund.
Neighboring counties also received grants during this time period. Grants to Tioga County totaled just over $328,000; to Chenango County over $714,000; to Delaware County $2.3 million; and to Cortland County $231,500. The total for New York State exceeds $233 million.
“We are honored to host Vicky as she tours and tells people about the importance of getting the Fund reauthorized,” said Scott Lauffer, chair of the local Susquehanna Group of the Sierra Club. “Locally, many of the services and amenities in parks and public spaces that we enjoy on a regular basis were achieved through the Fund. We don’t want to let this great program phase out.”
For more information about the talk (including carpool / parking information), contact Lauffer at lauffer.scott@gmail.com or call (607) 341-3746.
