Congress passes funding for conservation programs in Washington

SEATTLE, Wash. — Congress has passed permanent funding for a conservation program that’s paid for improvements to parks and facilities in Whatcom County and across the state.

Washington U.S. Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson led the creation of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in the 1960’s.

It’s paid for entirely by revenue from gas and oil leases, but The Seattle Times reports that congress has regularly raided the fund in the past.

This legislation dedicates $900 million per year to the fund that’s helped pay for improvements to Boulevard Park and Birch Bay State Park, land acquisitions along Whatcom Creek and at Chuckanut Bay, and hundreds of other projects around the state.

The bill, which the president is expected to sign, would increase federal funding for projects in Washington from $15 million to $35 million each year.