WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) led U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Wednesday in calling on the U.S. Department of the Interior to prioritize support in the FY 2018 Budget Request for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, which spans more than 36,000 acres throughout the Connecticut River watershed in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. In a letter addressed to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, the senators emphasized the environmental and recreational importance of the Conte Refuge to New England states, as well as the unique position that the Conte Refuge is in to use federal investments as leverage for additional non-federal funding. The senators requested that the Department provide robust federal support to upkeep, improve, and protect the Refuge.

“We write to urge the Department to prioritize funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) projects on the Refuge in the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Request. We strongly feel that Conte’s low ranking on the Fish and Wildlife Service project list in past years is mismatched relative to the merits of its backlogged projects and the extraordinary multiplier effect of federal investment in the Refuge,” wrote the senators. “While we continue to work for full funding for LWCF, we urge you to give appropriate priority to the Conte Refuge as you prepare the FY18 project list. We also urge you to include a request for full funding for LWCF in the Department’s FY18 Budget Request.”

For every $1 invested through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, there is an estimated return of $4 in local economic activity. 

The senators successfully called on the U.S. Department of Interior to provide sufficient funding for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge in FY2017. Murphy applauded the President’s 2017 budget request of $5.3 million for the Refuge – a $3.3 million increase in funding. 

The full text of the letter is available online below:

The Honorable Ryan Zinke
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240

Dear Secretary Zinke:

We know you are a strong supporter of public lands and of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and that you have significant experience with these programs in the West. We want to highlight the importance of LWCF projects in the Northeast for preserving the fast-disappearing remaining natural areas in our region for hiking, fishing, and other recreation. As elected representatives of the four states encompassing the boundaries of the Connecticut River Watershed and the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, we write to urge the Department to prioritize funding for LWCF projects on the Refuge in the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Request.

We strongly feel that Conte’s low ranking on the Fish and Wildlife Service project list in past years is mismatched relative to the merits of its backlogged projects and the extraordinary multiplier effect of federal investment in the Refuge. Because of the many local, state, and federal partnerships in this watershed, the Conte Refuge presents a unique opportunity to leverage additional non-federal funding. Moreover, members of the land trust community from throughout the basin routinely assist the Refuge in identifying properties and working with landowners towards federal ownership, lowering staff time and costs to the Service. These land trusts also have added a combined total of more than 350,000 acres to the conservation estate basin-wide, providing recreational opportunities to the more than 2.3 million people who live in the basin and another 70 million who live within a day's drive of these properties.

The ranking of the Conte Refuge should also appropriately reflect the needs of the Refuge and its long backlog of projects. The Fish and Wildlife Service staff and the non-governmental partner groups that comprise the Friends of Conte have identified over $14 million in projects that need funding within the Refuge.

While we continue to work for full funding for LWCF, we urge you to give appropriate priority to the Conte Refuge as you prepare the FY18 project list. We also urge you to include a request for full funding for LWCF in the Department’s FY18 Budget Request. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, 

Christopher S. Murphy
Richard Blumenthal
Patrick Leahy
Bernard Sanders
Maggie Hassan
Elizabeth Warren
Edward Markey

CC: Fish and Wildlife, OMB

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