Editor’s note: This commentary is by Shelby Semmes of Warren and Lenore Budd of Hinesburg. Semmes is the Vermont and New Hampshire state director for The Trust for Public Land; Budd serves on the advisory board of The Trust for Public Land, the Hinesburg Trails Committee and the board of the Hinesburg Land Trust.
[S]ince when have both sides of the aisle in Congress overwhelmingly agreed on anything? As of this week, they have agreed on public swimming pools in several Vermont communities, trails in California, waterfront parks in Georgia, sacred land in Hawaii … the list goes on. These treasures – amenities for healthy living and a livable planet – are all funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which provides revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to fund parks and open space. In one of the biggest victories for conservation in a generation, LWCF was permanently re-authorized this week when President Donald Trump signed it into law after resounding support from Congress.
This bipartisan support shows elected leaders understand that access to the outdoors is critical for a healthy economy, active living and age-diverse communities. Let’s look at just a few of the initiatives LWCF enabled in Vermont this year. The Town of Williston is saving its beloved Catamount Outdoor Family Center by establishing a town forest on the 363 acres of land the Center calls home. The State is expanding CC Putnam State Park in Stowe, Middlesex and Worcester to ensure the meander up to the summit of Mount Hunger isn’t compromised by low density development. The Green Mountain National Forest is also acquiring land in Killington, Chittenden and Mendon, allowing for the construction of a world-class, accessible, backcountry hut to serve as a base for wilderness exploration for locals and visitors alike. Winooski, Barre and other municipalities will renovate and update deteriorating public swimming pools.
For a largely rural state like Vermont, investments enabled by LWCF are a critical way for our state to shape its future. According to the USDA’s Rural Establishment Innovation Survey, amenity-rich counties across America watched their population grow by nearly 20 percent between 1990 and 2015, gaining adults between the ages of 25 and 34. In Vermont, one in seven jobs depends on outdoor recreation, and 72 percent of Vermonters participate in outdoor recreation every year. Politicians and citizens of all political stripes can get behind the goal of LWCF: ensuring everyone has access to nature. The Trust for Public Land shares that goal and has worked for over 20 years to assure re-authorization of LWCF. We have also been busy putting those funds to work here in Vermont and with projects across the country. With LWCF, we can protect the places in our communities that bring us together. The next generation of Little Bellas mountain bikers have a beautiful town forest to call home – and they’ll be voting in no time.
