skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Alabama woman works to help returning citizens rebuild their lives; Marist polls: Harris leads Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin; they're tied in Pennsylvania; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on healthcare, safety, wages; NC dentists warn of crisis due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Idaho Delegation, Supporters Gather to Protect Conservation Program

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 23, 2018   

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Idaho's congressional delegation and other supporters of a federal conservation program gather at the South Fork of the Snake River Thursday to stress the need to save the Land and Water Conservation Fund before it expires.

Rep. Mike Simpson and staff for Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo – all three lawmakers are Republicans – will be at the event celebrating the fund, which has been used to protect landscapes throughout Idaho since it was created in 1965.

Michael Whitfield, a member of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalition, says the South Fork of the Snake is a fitting place as the site of many projects funded by the program.

"It's, scenically, incredibly beautiful,” he states. “It's a major, world class fishery. It experiences probably half a million recreational visits a year with people who float that river to see all the wildlife and to enjoy the spectacular, native cutthroat trout fishery."

Whitfield says nearly every county in the state has benefited from the program, which also funds parks and recreational facilities such as soccer fields.

Idaho has received nearly $280 million since the Land and Water Conservation Fund was created. The Gem State's delegation has supported the fund in the past.

The fund expires on Sept. 30 unless Congress reauthorizes it.

Supporters of LWCF include many Idaho landowners. Whitfield says they use the fund to keep their land the way it is.

Whitfield adds there's growing urgency to ensure that the program is reauthorized, because many projects require coordination and certainty that funding will be available.

"The projects take time to negotiate,” he points out.
“They're always done with willing landowners on a voluntary basis. And they're making big decisions, which takes time and some assurance that the program will be there."

The program is funded with royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling, meaning it isn't supported by general taxpayer dollars.

Another measure in Congress would use those royalty payments to address the National Park Service maintenance backlog.

Whitfield says both can be supported, so his and other conservation groups would like to see both measures pass.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021