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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Public-Lands Protection Package Nears Finish Line in Congress

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Friday, February 22, 2019   

BOISE, Idaho - Congress is poised to pass a massive public-lands package that includes permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Approved 92-8 by the Senate last week, the House is set to vote on the bill as soon as next week. The fund expired in September, although it has strong support from the public, favored by three-quarters of Americans, according to a National Wildlife Federation poll.

Tracy Stone-Manning, the federation's vice president for public lands, said public lands offer a rare opportunity to unite Americans.

"In a time when our country is so divided, this one issue - the ability to bring people together around public lands, around protection of our wildlife - has punched through as something that is so uniquely and beautifully American that it has brought the Senate together," she said, "and we're hoping it does the House as well."

Idaho has received nearly $280 million from the program since it began in 1965, opening up access to places such as Craters of the Moon National Monument, the Salmon River and Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The program, which also supports projects such as city parks, baseball fields and trails, is funded through royalties paid by energy companies for offshore oil and gas drilling.

Land Tawney, president and chief executive of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, noted that the outdoors is a big stimulus for the country's economy. Outdoor recreation generates almost $8 billion a year in the Gem State.

"In this conversation about jobs, jobs, jobs and the economy," Tawney said, "this is one of the most solid things that we can put our investments behind, which is our public lands and public waters."

Maite Arce, president and CEO of the Hispanic Access Foundation, said public lands are a key component of the American identity.

"They're places that not only preserve our shared cultural heritage and provide access to recreate, but it also provides millions of jobs," she said, "and it often provides the only means to experience the outdoors, because this program supports local and municipal parks and projects."

The bill also would support maintenance projects at Smith Gulch.


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