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Why This Matters: Permanent funding for parks and conservation is long overdue — on top of the environmental benefits, it creates jobs and helps ensure that every American has access to nature. Tying the $900m fund to fossil fuel development is paradoxical and the funding stream will decrease as we reduce our drilling on federal lands and waters. Right now, however, it is important to secure permanent funding — the source could change later as we begin to develop funding from renewable sources on federal lands. Bishop is being obstructionist — it’s not that he cares about stable funding for parks.
Royalties Are Down
According to the Congressional Research Service, the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue reported offshore oil and gas royalty collections of $100 million in May, which is 84 percent lower than royalty collections in May 2019. “The core provisions of H.R. 1957 rely upon unobligated receipts from energy development on federal lands and waters, and the CRS has just confirmed that these revenue streams have evaporated due to the pandemic,” Bishop said in a statement Monday, according to Politico. The revenue for the Land and Water Conservation Fund has always come from oil and gas royalties — the law would make the funding permanent.
Many have questioned the perverse incentives created by using energy revenues for conservation, arguing that this might make oil and gas development more acceptable. But the logic of the program also made some sense — it was a way to repay the public for the development of public lands. Given the push to end drilling on public lands and the likelihood that royalties are likely to decline over time, this funding model will need to change. Right now the revenues are down because the Trump Administration has actually been reducing or even excusing royalty payments altogether.
By Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer The earth is collapsing under Russia’s northeastern towns as global warming melts the permafrost beneath them. Permafrost occupies 65% of Russia’s landmass, making this massive thawing particularly destructive. “There isn’t a single settlement in Russia’s Arctic where you wouldn’t find a destroyed or deformed building,” said Alexey Maslakov, […]
By Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer Heirs’ property is a type of land ownership whereby property is passed down without a will, and it’s one of the main reasons Black families in the US are losing their land. But the Mobile Basin Heirs’ Property Support Initiative announced yesterday could help families in Mississippi’s Mobile Bay […]
By Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer The White House announced Friday that President Biden will use his executive authority to restore protections for three national monuments drastically reduced during the Trump Administration. He will reestablish and increase the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, both of which are in Utah. The orders […]
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