Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

By Catharine Richert December 30, 2009
Back to Partner with landowners to conserve private lands

Obama has a mixed record on land conservation

Land and water conservation were an important part of Barack Obama's campaign platform, and he has made some progress on his promise to "put an unprecedented level of emphasis on the conservation of private lands" in several areas.
 
First, Obama included in his Interior Department budget about $420 million -- an increase of about $116 million -- for the Land and Water Conservation fund. He got more than he wanted; congressional appropriators approved $450 million for the program.
 
And the Agriculture Department funding bill included $887.6 million for conservation programs, an increase of more than $34 million over previous funding bills.
 
Nevertheless, Obama's budget shortchanged other key programs he talked about on the campaign trail, including the Conservation Reserve Program meant to encourage farmers to conserve more of their land. According to the White House's "Terminations, Reductions and Savings" document released along with its budget, the Conservation Reserve Program would lose a total of $178 million between now and 2019. Ultimately, Congress opted to fully fund the program in this year's Agriculture Department appropriations bill.
 
So, Obama's made some headway on putting more money toward land conservation efforts, but we're going to wait and see if Obama comes through on the last part of his promise -- to create new incentives for private landowners to protect vulnerable habitats. For now, we rate this one In the Works.

Our Sources