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STATEHOUSE INSIDER
CARA, which passed by a 3-to-l margin in theHouse in May and was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in July, would provide nearly $3 billion in guaranteed annual appropriations each year for the next 15 years. While the White House calls the appropriations bill"a fantastic step forward" and conservation groups, including the Defenders of Wildlife and the Audubon Society support the bill, others who have been working on CARA for 15 years claim the appropriations bill is no substitute for CARA. They say the bill is not enough money, and it's not guaranteed. "The appropriations bill would provide a little over a quarter of the funding that was promised," says Jodi Applegate, conservation funding project coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation, which has worked to advance CARA for the last five years. "Our bigger concern is that the program is not mandatory and it does not guarantee annual appropriations, as CARA would have." The appropriations bill lumps several conservation programs together, causing them to compete with each another for funding. The FY 2001 Interior Appropriations Bill, groups a variety of conservation programs into six "baskets," each of which has a baseline funding for FY 2001 through FY 2006.
Land and Water Conservation Fund The Land and WaterConservation Fund's (LWCF) state and federal programs are inside the same "basket" and receive $450 million and $90 million, respectively, for FY 2001. The two programs will vie for a share of the $540 million base line in each of the following five years. Urban Park and Recreation Recover Program The Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR) is in a "basket" with other urban programs, including the Historic Preservation Fund, and receives $30 million in FY 2001. It will vie with other programs in its "basket" for $160 million in the next six years. In addition, for FY 2002 to FY2006, the overall fund increases by $120 million annually, which can be dispersed to any or all of the programs in the fund at the discretion of the appropriators. Let's be clear: this funding is not CARA. It does not have the longevity, dedicated funding or the state and local conservation programs that were a hallmark of CARA. INTERIOR FUNDING CONFERENCE REPORT FY01 HR 4578 includes a $12 billion, six-year commitment to fund federal and state land acquisition, land and wildlife conservation, overdue maintenance on federal lands, historic preservation, urban parks and payments in lieu of taxes. The bill would provide $2.5 billion more than President Clinton requested, and $3.9 billion more than current funding. The conferees added a new Tide VIII to provide up to $12 billion over six years for land conservation, preservation and infrastructure improvement. Under the agreement, for fiscal 2001, the bill simply appropriates money: $686 million over what was already in the bill for these programs, for a total of approximately $1.2 billion. The agreement assumes an additional $400 million would be appropriated for coastal programs under the commerce-justice-state appropriations bill, which provides funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The managers'statement emphasizes: "The program is not mandatory and does not guarantee annual appropriations." As such, the agreement fails to satisfy most supporters of the freestanding Conserva-
12 / Illinois Parks and Recreation ISSUES AND INSIGHTS FROM THE LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE SCENE
tion and Reinvestment Act (HR701,H.Rpt. 106-499, S. Rpt. 106-413) who are seeking a more assured funding stream. The amounts appropriated in HR4578 for fiscal 2001 would serve as caps for six program categories. In the subsequent years, funds not appropriated in one year would rollover to the following year in that category. The overall fund for programs under the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Interior Subcommittee would increase by $120 million in each succeeding year. Those increases would be distributed among the eligible programs as appropriators chose. The six eligible programs under the agreement are: • Federal and state Land and Water Conservation Fund acquisition programs, funded in fiscal 2001 at a total of $540 million, including $293.9 million for Interior Department agencies, $155.5 million for the U.S. Forest Service and $90.5 million for states. • State and other conservation programs (including the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service's North American Wetlands Conservation Program, the cooperative endangered species fund, a new state wildlife grants program, U.S. Geological Survey science programs, and forest legacy projects), funded in fiscal 2001 at a total of $300 million. • Urban and historic preservation (including Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery, the Historic Preservation Fund, Youth Conservation Corps, and urban and community forestry), funded in fiscal 2001 at a total of $160 million. • Federal maintenance projects, such as the repair and rehabilitation of existing facilities and roads (the money may not be used for new structures), funded in fiscal 2001 at a total of $150 million. • Payments in lieu of taxes, funded in fiscal 2001 at a total of $50 million. The "fenced cap" language is based on the1995 Violent Crime Trust Fund, and the managers' statement says: "The amount of each cap does not assure appropriations for that amount, but does assure that funds from within one category are not shifted to another category." Senate Energy Committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), one of the leading sponsors of CARA, charged that the agreement "has substituted end-of-the-year smoke and mirrors" for CARA. Says Murkowski: "It is possible that none of the accounts might ever be appropriated at all....There is nothing in the appropriations measure that allows funding to come to the states."
FY 2000 OPEN LANDS TRUST On October 30 and November 2, Governor George Ryan distributed the first year's allocation of Open Land Trust (OLT) monies to projects across the state. Following is a list of the recipients and their projects. Champaign County Forest Preserve District $2,000,000 to acquire 358 acres of scenic river corridor flood plain containing two large lakes along the Sangamon River in Champaign County. Chicago Park District $2,000,000 to acquire five acres along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Forest Preserve District of Cook County $2,000,000 to acquire 65 acres of the former Klehm Nursery and to provide additional protection for the headwaters of Spring Creek. Dundee Township $1,967,700 to acquire 248 acres which includes the former Elmhurst-Chicago Stone gravel mine. The site is a critical component of the Jelkes Creek greenway. Geneva Park District $487,500 to acquire a 22-acre addition to Peck Farm, located on the corner of Kaneville Road and Fabyan Parkway. Enhancement of the site will include prairie restoration and habitat demonstration plots. Jo Daviess County $604,000 to acquire 206 acres. The property serves as the primary viewshed for the town of Galena and the driftless area landscape. Kane County Forest Preserve District $2,000,000 to acquire the 121-acre Carson's Slough and a 292-acre portion of the Thornton Farm. The Slough contains habitat for at least five state-threatened/endangered bird species. Kendall County Forest Preserve District $127,800 to acquire 22 acres consisting of an 11-acre wooded bluff savanna and an 11-acre island in the Fox River. Lake County Forest Preserve District $2,000,000 to acquire a 270-acre site. This property is part of a larger 403-acre parcel which will be called Ray Lake Farm. The 270 acres contains three wetlands, a large woodlands and agricultural land that will be restored to prairie. McHenry County Conservation District $1,467,500 ($1,299,245 from federal LWCF and $168,255 from OLT) to acquire the 94-acre Centegra property and the 87-acre McConnell Woods. Dufield Pond sites in Woodstock. Natural features at both sites will be restored and trails and public access areas will be developed. Northbrook Park District $2,000,000 to acquire a14-acre parcel. The district will renovate existing wetlands and a 1.2-acre Mesic prairie planting area is planned. A trail/pathway system will also be developed through the site. Village of Orland Park $1,950,000 to acquire 28 parcels of property totaling 48 acres. The site contains several endangered bird species and an endangered sedge plant. City of Rock Island $293,000 to acquire four properties totaling five acres along the Mississippi River. St. Clair County $150,000 to acquire 98 acres. The site is adjacent to Silver Creek and contains bottomland hardwood swamp, emergent marsh and scrub-shrub wetland and was targeted by the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory as a Grad A area. Winnebago County Forest Preserve District $417,000 to acquire 318 acres at two sites within the Sugar River Corridor.
November/December 2000 ¦ 13 STATEHOUSE INSIDER
Bolingbrook Park District $200,000 to develop approximately 2 miles of bicycle path on aCommonwealth Edison easement connecting the DuPage River Greenway bicycle path to the Lily Cache bicycle path. Village of Bourbonnais $118,900 to develop a 1.2 mile asphalt bicycle path west from Cavalier DeLaSalle Park. This proposed trail extension will connect the existing Perry Farm/KankakeeRiverfront Trail to the eastern edge of Kankakee River State Park. Chicago Park District $200,000 to widen approximately 2 miles of the Lakefront Bikeway between 22nd and 39th Streets. The project also includes safety lighting and signage. Fox Valley Park District $200,000 to renovate 4.9 miles of the V. L. Gilman Trail. Project elements include the widening and asphalt paving of the path and two bridges. City of Joliet $200,000 to develop a 4.9 mile, multiuse trail segment of the Joliet Junction Trail. Kane County Forest Preserve District $200,000 to realign a 0.25 mile section of the V. L. Gilman Trail. The project solves a major safety issue by eliminating an often unusable box culvert. Lake County Forest Preserve District $2,000,000 to construct a 4.02 mile crushed gravel screening trail. Oswegoland Park District $2,000,000 to develop a 2.4-mile multiuse trail that will connect five parks and six subdivisions along Grove Road. Rock Island County Forest Preserve District $101,000 to construct the 4.5-mile second phase of the Great River Trail. Springfield Park District $55,000 to construct a 2.5-mile asphalt multiuse trail from the corner of Stanford Avenue and Fox Bridge Trail access at the Illinois Department of Transportation Office. St. Charles Park District $160,000 to construct a bicycle bridge over Randall Road at Silver Glen Road. Wheaton Park District $200,000 to construct a bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad which will connect the Illinois Prairie Path on the north to the DuPage County Fairgrounds. Will County Forest Preserve District $200,000 to develop a 2.9-mile bike trail within a portion of the Lake Renwick Preserve. Winnebago County Forest Preserve District $107,800 to construct a 0.9-mile asphalt path to link the existing Bauer Bridge Trail. •
Governor George Ryan approved $4,106,800 for matching grants to 26 local government agencies for the acquisition of land or development of facilities for bicycle paths in Illinois. Funding for the Bicycle Path Grant Program comes from a percentage of motor vehicle tide transfer fees. Grant awards for bikepath development projects are limited to a $200,000 maximum. No limit is in effect for land acquisition projects. The program operates on a reimbursement basis with grants providing up to 50 percent of the total approved project costs. A total of 55 applications were initially received, representing a combined request of $7.9 million. Of the 26 grant awards, 23 are for development projects and the remaining three are acquisition projects. A total of 65.8 miles of bicycle trail (61.6 miles of trail development and 4.2 miles of acquisition) will be added or improved as a result of these grants. Combined with mileage totals in this program from previous years, the Department of Natural Resources will have assisted with the development or acquisition of approximately 709 miles of Illinois bicycle trails since 1990. Four projects will resolve existing safety problems by developing bridge or under-bridge connections: the city of Chicago, Forest Preserve District of Kane County, St. Charles Park District and the Wheaton Park District. Additionally, the Winnebago County Highway Department will rehabilitate 37 bridges along the Pecatonica Prairie Path. Ten projects involve former railroad rights-of-way: city of Eldorado, Fox Valley Park District, city of Joliet, Lake County Department of Transportation, Roscoe Township, Springfield Park District, Village of Villa Park, Winnebago County Highway Department and the two Madison County Transit District projects. Grand Illinois Trail projects include those of the Rock Island County Forest Preserve District and the Winnebago County Highway Department. Nine of the projects funded will provide connections to schools: Bolingbrook Park District, city of Eldorado, city of Fairbury, Fox Valley Park District, city of Joliet, the two Madison County Transit District projects, Village of Manteno and the Springfield Park District. Eight of the projects have also received ISTEA or TEA-21 funding, a federal program for the enhancement of transportation systems: city of Eldorado, the two Madison County Transit District projects, Rock Island County Forest Preserve District, Springfield Park District, St. Charles Park District, Wheaton Park District and the Winnebago County Highway Department. Three projects provide scenic routes along bodies of water (greenways): city of Chicago (North Branch of the Chicago River), Chicago Park District (Lake Michigan) and Lake County Forest Preserve District (DesPlaines River).
14 ¦ Illinois Parks and Recreation |
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