Land and Water Conservation Fund: Appropriations for "Other Purposes"

Contents

• Introduction
• LWCF Appropriations for Other Purposes
• Level of Funding
• Types of Purposes

Summary

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965 (P.L. 88-578) created the LWCF in the Treasury as a funding source to implement the outdoor recreation goals set out by the act. The LWCF Act authorizes the fund to receive $900 million annually, with the monies available only if appropriated by Congress (i.e., discretionary appropriations). The fund also receives mandatory appropriations under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA). The level of annual appropriations for the LWCF has varied since the origin of the fund in FY1965.

The LWCF Act outlines uses of the fund for federal and state purposes. Of the total made available through appropriations or deposits under GOMESA, not less than 40% is to be used for "federal purposes" and not less than 40% is to be used to provide "financial assistance to states." The act lists the federal purposes for which the President is to allot LWCF funds "unless otherwise allotted in the appropriation Act making them available." These purposes primarily relate to acquisition of lands and waters (and interests therein) by the federal government. With regard to state purposes, the act authorizes a matching grant program to states for outdoor recreation purposes. Throughout the LWCF's history, appropriations acts typically have provided funds for land acquisition and outdoor recreational grants to states.

Beginning in FY1998, appropriations also have been provided each year (except FY1999) to fund other purposes related to natural resources. The extent to which the LWCF should be used for purposes other than federal land acquisition and outdoor recreation grants to states, and which other purposes should be funded from the LWCF, continue to be the subject of legislation and debate in Congress. In the past few decades, Presidents have sought LWCF funds for a variety of other purposes. Congress chooses which if any of these requests to fund, and has chosen programs not sought by the President for a particular year. Among other programs, appropriations have been provided for facility maintenance of the land management agencies, ecosystem restoration, the Historic Preservation Fund, the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, the Forest Legacy Program, State and Tribal Wildlife Grants (under the Fish and Wildlife Service), the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, U.S. Geological Survey science and cooperative programs, and Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Land and Water Claim Settlements.

Since FY1998, a total of $2.7 billion has been appropriated for other purposes, of a total LWCF appropriation of $18.9 billion over the history of the fund. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service have received the largest shares of the total appropriations for other purposes, about $1.4 billion (53%) and $1.0.billion (38%), respectively, from FY1998 to FY2019. Several agencies shared the remaining $0.2 billion (9%) of the appropriations.

Both the dollar amounts and the percentages of annual LWCF appropriations for other purposes have varied widely since FY1998. The dollar amounts have ranged from $0 in FY1999 to $456.0 million in FY2001. The percentage of annual funds provided for other purposes ranged from 0% in FY1999 to a high of 59% in both FY2006 and FY2007. In some years, the appropriation for other purposes was significantly less than the Administration requested. For instance, for FY2008, the George W. Bush Administration sought $313.1 million; the appropriation was $101.3 million. The appropriation for other purposes last exceeded $100.0 million in FY2010, and most recently was $93.3 million, in FY2019.

Prior to FY2008, several other purposes typically were funded each year from LWCF. Since FY2008, funds have been appropriated annually only for grants under two programs: Forest Legacy and Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. These two programs and a third grant program—State and Tribal Wildlife Grants—have received more than three-quarters ($2.1 billion, 79%) of the total appropriation for other purposes since FY1998.

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Introduction

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965 was enacted to "assist in preserving, developing, and assuring accessibility to ... outdoor recreation resources."¹ Two main goals of the law were to facilitate participation in recreation and "to strengthen the health and vitality" of U.S. citizens.² To accomplish these goals, purposes of the law included "providing funds" for federal land acquisition and for federal assistance to states generally related to outdoor recreation.

The fund is authorized to receive $900 million in revenues annually under the LWCF Act. Each year the fund accrues revenues at this level. The fund accumulates the majority of its revenues from oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). It also accumulates revenues from the federal motorboat fuel tax and surplus property sales. However, revenues that accrue under the LWCF Act are available only if appropriated by Congress through the discretionary appropriations process.

The LWCF receives additional revenue (beyond the $900 million) from OCS leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA).³ Unlike revenues under the LWCF Act, GOMESA revenues are mandatory appropriations (and thus are not subject to annual appropriation by Congress). They can be used only for grants to states for outdoor recreation purposes.

The overall level of annual appropriations (discretionary and mandatory combined) has varied widely since the fund's origin in FY1965. Of the total revenues that have accrued throughout the program's history ($40.9 billion), less than half have been appropriated ($18.9 billion) through FY2019.⁴ Thus, the unappropriated balance in the fund is estimated at $22.0 billion through FY2019.⁵

The LWCF Act outlines uses of the fund for federal and state purposes. It states that of the total made available to the fund, not less than 40% is to be used for "federal purposes" and not less than 40% is to be used to provide "financial assistance to states."⁶ The act lists the federal purposes for which the President is to allot LWCF funds "unless otherwise allotted in the appropriation Act making them available."⁷ These purposes primarily relate to the acquisition of lands and waters (and interests therein) by the federal government.⁸ With regard to state purposes, the act authorizes a matching grant program to states for outdoor recreation purposes.

In practice, over the history of the LWCF, appropriations acts have provided funding for three general purposes. First, for each year since FY1965, appropriations for land acquisition have been provided to some or all of the major federal land management agencies—the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), and Forest Service (FS). Second, for nearly every year since FY1965, appropriations have funded the outdoor recreation matching grant program, to assist states in recreational planning, acquiring recreational lands and waters, and developing outdoor recreational facilities. Third, beginning in FY1998, appropriations from the LWCF have been provided each year, except FY1999, to fund other federal programs with related natural resource purposes. Hereinafter, the third type of appropriations is referred to as funding other purposes.

The $18.9 billion appropriated from the fund through FY2019 has been allocated in different proportions among federal land acquisition, the state grant program, and other purposes. The largest portion of the total—$11.4 billion—has been appropriated for federal land acquisition. The state grant program has received the second-largest portion, $4.8 billion. Other purposes have received the remaining $2.7 billion. Appendix A shows the total LWCF appropriation for other purposes.

Congress continues to consider the extent to which the LWCF should fund purposes other than federal land acquisition and outdoor recreation grants to states. Some traditional LWCF advocates and beneficiaries have expressed concern about expanding the use of the funds, particularly if such expansion results in lower appropriations for land acquisition and outdoor recreation grants to states. Some Members of Congress, Presidents, and stakeholders have supported funding other purposes in order to draw on the balance in the fund for policy priorities, to shift the focus of the fund from land acquisition, or to achieve other goals.

A number of measures introduced in recent Congresses sought to authorize funding from the LWCF for various other purposes. These measures were not enacted. They included proposals to specify an amount or percentage of funding for two programs that are currently funded by the LWCF—the Forest Legacy Program and Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation grants—although the LWCF Act does not specifically authorize this funding.⁹ Other proposals sought to authorize programs or activities that have not been funded by LWCF in the past, or that have been rarely funded by LWCF in the past. For instance, one 115^th Congress bill would have authorized LWCF funding for certain programs and activities of the major land management agencies, including deferred maintenance, critical infrastructure, visitor services, and clean-up efforts; the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Program;¹⁰ and certain offshore energy exploration, innovation, and education activities.¹¹ As another example, one 115^th Congress bill proposed to authorize LWCF funding for financial assistance from the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for park and recreation infrastructure projects.¹²

The balance of this report discusses the other purposes for which LWCF appropriations have been provided throughout the fund's history. It identifies the amount of funding contained in annual appropriations laws for other purposes and the types of purposes for which funds have been appropriated.¹³

LWCF Appropriations for Other Purposes

Level of Funding

A total of $72.0 million was appropriated from the LWCF for other purposes in FY1998, the first year in which LWCF was used to fund other purposes. The total included $60.0 million for maintenance needs of the four land management agencies and $12.0 million for rehabilitation and maintenance of the Beartooth Highway (in Wyoming and Montana). In FY1998, total LWCF appropriations had spiked to approximately $969 million¹⁴ from the FY1997 level of about $159 million.¹⁵

Both the dollar amounts and the percentages of annual LWCF appropriations for other purposes have varied widely since FY1998. (See Appendix B.) Over the most recent 10 years, LWCF appropriations for other purposes fluctuated, declining overall from $132.5 million in FY2010 to $93.3 million in FY2019 (in current dollars). However, the FY2019 level was the highest appropriation since FY2010.

Beginning in FY2011, appropriations for other purposes in each year have been less than $100 million, as was the case for FY1998-FY2000. Appropriations for other purposes were at their lowest dollar amount in FY1999, when no funds for other purposes were appropriated. The next-lowest dollar value was provided for FY2000, when a total of $20.0 million was appropriated for three purposes: Elwha River Ecosystem restoration (in Washington), deferred maintenance of the NPS, and the FS Forest Legacy program.

By contrast, from FY2001 to FY2010, appropriations for other purposes exceeded $100 million in each year. In fact, during four of these years (FY2004-FY2007), the annual appropriation was between $200 million and $225 million. The appropriation surpassed $400 million in another year during the period. Specifically, the $456.0 million appropriation in FY2001 was more than double the amount provided for other purposes in any other year. These appropriations were used to fund more than a dozen programs in the Clinton Administration's Lands Legacy Initiative. In that year, total LWCF appropriations exceeded the annual authorization level, totaling nearly $1 billion. This record level of funding was provided partly in response to President Clinton's Lands Legacy Initiative, which sought $1.4 billion for about two dozen resource-protection programs, including the LWCF. It also was provided partly in response to some congressional interest in securing increased and more certain funding for the LWCF.

The highest percentage of annual funds provided for other purposes occurred in FY2006 and FY2007 (59% in both years), in response to President George W. Bush's request for funding for an array of programs. For instance, in FY2007 the Bush Administration sought funding from the LWCF for 15 programs in addition to land acquisition and state grants. For that year, the appropriation for five other purposes was $216.1 million, out of a total LWCF appropriation of $366.1 million.

In some years, the appropriation for other purposes was significantly less than the Administration requested. For example, for FY2008 the Bush Administration sought $313.1 million for other purposes, or 83% of the total request of $378.7 million. The FY2008 appropriation for other purposes was $101.3 million, or 40% of the LWCF total of $255.1 million.

The $2.7 billion appropriated from the LWCF from FY1998 to FY2019 for other purposes represents 27% of the $10.0 billion total appropriations from LWCF during the period. FWS and FS have received the largest shares of the appropriations for other purposes, about $1.4 billion (53%) and $1.0 billion (38%), respectively. BLM, NPS, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have shared the remaining $0.2 billion (9%) of the appropriations for other purposes. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Total LWCF Appropriations for Other Purposes, by Agency, FY1998-FY2019 (in millions of dollars, not adjusted for inflation)

Source: Graphic created by CRS. The primary source for the data is the DOI Office of Budget. Additional sources of information include the annual DOI Budget in Brief and congressional documents accompanying the annual DOI appropriations bill. Note: Some programs included in this figure (e.g., the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and State and Tribal Wildlife grants) have received appropriations from sources in addition to the LWCF. Other sources of funding have included the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury. Funds from other sources are not included in this figure.

Types of Purposes

Because there is no set of other purposes specified in the LWCF Act to be funded from the LWCF, presidents have sought funds for a variety of purposes. Congress has chosen which of these requests to fund from the LWCF, and whether to fund any additional programs from the LWCF not suggested by the President.¹⁶ Appropriations for other purposes have been provided for more than a dozen diverse natural resource-related programs, including facility maintenance of the land management agencies, ecosystem restoration, the Historic Preservation Fund, the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, the FS Forest Legacy program, FWS State and Tribal Wildlife Grants, the FWS Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, U.S. Geological Survey science and cooperative programs, and Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Land and Water Claim Settlements.¹⁷ (See Appendix A.)

Although in earlier years several other purposes typically were funded from LWCF, since FY2008, funds have been appropriated annually only for grants under two programs: Forest Legacy and Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund. (See Appendix B and Figure 2.) The total appropriation from LWCF for these two programs (since FY1998) is $1.7 billion, or 63% of all appropriations for other purposes ($2.7 billion). These two programs and a third grant program funded prior to FY2008 from LWCF—FWS State and Tribal Wildlife Grants—have received more than three-quarters ($2.1 billion, 79%) of the total appropriations for other purposes. The appropriations through FY2019 are $944.4 million for Forest Legacy (35% of the other purposes total), $753.3 million for Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (28% of total), and $448.5 million for State and Tribal Wildlife Grants (17% of total).

Grants under the Forest Legacy program are used to acquire lands or conservation easements to preserve private forests threatened by conversion to non-forest uses, such as agriculture or residences. FS provides matching grants to states through a competitive process that requires state approval and then national approval and ranking. The ranking is based on the importance of the project (potential public benefits from protection), the likelihood of the forest's conversion to non-forest uses, and the strategic relevance of the project, among other factors. The program is implemented primarily through state partners, usually state forestry agencies. State partners generally acquire, hold, and administer the easements or land purchases, although the federal government also may do so.¹⁸

Figure 2. Types of Other Purposes, FY1998-FY2019 (in millions of dollars, not adjusted for inflation)

Source: Graphic created by CRS. The primary source for the data is the DOI Office of Budget. Additional sources of information include the annual DOI Budget in Brief and congressional documents accompanying the annual DOI appropriations bill. Note: Some programs included in this figure (e.g., the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund and State and Tribal Wildlife grants) have received appropriations from sources in addition to the LWCF. Other sources of funding have included the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury.

The Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund provides grants "for species and habitat conservation actions on non-Federal lands, including habitat acquisition, conservation planning, habitat restoration, status surveys, captive propagation and reintroduction, research, and education."¹⁹ In addition to appropriations from LWCF, the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund typically receives additional appropriations. In recent years, the appropriations from LWCF generally have been used for two types of land acquisition grants provided to state and territories on a matching basis. Recovery land acquisition grants have been made for acquisition of habitats in support of species recovery goals and objectives.²⁰ Habitat conservation plan land acquisition grants have been made for acquisition of lands that are associated with habitat conservation plans.²¹

State and Tribal Wildlife Grants are provided to states, territories, and tribes to develop and implement programs for the benefit of fish and wildlife and their habitats, including nongame species. State and Tribal Wildlife Grants received funding from the LWCF for FY2001-FY2007; subsequently, funding has been provided from the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury. Currently, the largest portion of the program is for formula grants to states and territories on a matching basis. Funds from the formula grants may be used to develop state conservation plans and to implement specific conservation projects. Smaller amounts of funding have been appropriated for competitive grants to states and territories, and to tribal governments. The competitive grant programs do not have matching requirements.²²

Appendix A shows the total LWCF appropriations for other purposes summed from FY1998 to FY2019. Appendix B shows the other purposes that received LWCF appropriations each year, the amount of LWCF appropriations for each purpose, and the total annual appropriations for other purposes.

Appendix A. Total LWCF Appropriations for Other Purposes

Appendix B. Annual LWCF Appropriations for Other Purposes

Author Contact Information

Footnotes

1.	P.L. 88-578, §1(b). The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act was enacted on September 3, 1964 (P.L. 88-578; 78 Stat. 897). The text of the law had been codified at 16 U.S.C. §§460l-4 et seq. It was recodified under P.L. 113-287 to 54 U.S.C. §§200301 et seq.
2.	P.L. 88-578, §1(b).
3.	§105, Division C, P.L. 109-432.
4.	Nearly all of these appropriations have been discretionary appropriations under the LWCF Act. Specifically, of the total appropriation of $40.9 billion through FY2019, only $146.6 million were mandatory appropriations under GOMESA.
5.	Figures on total receipts, total appropriations, and the unappropriated balance were derived primarily from data provided by the Department of the Interior (DOI), Office of Budget. Additional sources of information include the annual DOI Budget in Brief and congressional documents accompanying the annual Interior appropriations bill. Throughout this report, figures are estimates based on available sources. In the text and figures in this report, in some cases the amounts do not sum to the totals provided or the percentages do not correspond precisely to the numbers provided due to rounding.
6.	54 U.S.C. §200304(b).
7.	54 U.S.C. §200306(a).
8.	An interest is something less than full ownership, such as a conservation easement or minerals.
9.	See, for example, H.R. 2863 and §5102 of S. 1460, 115th Congress. These measures also authorize funding from the LWCF for the American Battlefield Protection Program, currently appropriated from the LWCF through the NPS account for Land Acquisition and State Assistance. The Forest Legacy Program provides matching grants to states for acquisition of lands or easements to preserve private forests threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. LWCF appropriations for Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation grants generally have been provided to states and territories on a matching basis for land acquisition. These two programs are discussed in more detail under the "Types of Purposes" section of this report.
10.	This program compensates counties and local governments for nontaxable lands within their jurisdictions. For additional information, see CRS Report RL31392, PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes): Somewhat Simplified, by Katie Hoover.
11.	See H.R. 5170, 115th Congress.
12.	See H.R. 343, 115th Congress.
13.	For additional background on the LWCF, see CRS Report RL33531, Land and Water Conservation Fund: Overview, Funding History, and Issues, by Carol Hardy Vincent.
14.	FY1998 was the first year that LWCF total appropriations exceeded the authorized level of $900 million. The only other year in which total LWCF appropriations exceeded the authorized level was FY2001, with total appropriations of approximately $995 million.
15.	The approximately $969 million appropriated in FY1998 was included in the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (P.L. 105-83). The law contained about $270 million in the usual funding titles for land acquisition by the four federal land management agencies and the state grant program (administration only), and about $699 million in a new Title V (entitled "Priority Land Acquisitions, Land Exchanges, and Maintenance").
16.	In a number of cases, presidents have sought LWCF funding for more other purposes than Congress has chosen to fund. For instance, for FY2005 President Bush requested funding for 15 other purposes within the BLM, FWS, NPS, FS, and DOI's Departmental Management. The FY2005 appropriations law contained funding for five other purposes.
17.	When not funded by the LWCF, these programs have often received appropriations from other sources. Depending on the program, these sources may have included discretionary appropriations from the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury, discretionary appropriations from special funds, or mandatory appropriations. Further, programs have sometimes received funding from both the LWCF and another source (e.g., for Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation grants).
18.	For additional information on Forest Legacy, see CRS Report RL31065, Forestry Assistance Programs, by Katie Hoover; and FS, "Forest Legacy," at https://www.fs.fed.us/managing-land/private-land/forest-legacyhttp://www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/programs/loa/flp.shtml.
19.	DOI, Fish and Wildlife Service, Budget Justifications and Performance Information, Fiscal Year 2020, p. CESCF-2, at https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/fy2020_fws_budget_justification.pdfhttp://www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/programs/loa/flp.shtml.
20.	LWCF funding was not provided for this type of grant in FY2018, although these grants received other appropriations.
21.	FWS, "Endangered Species: Grants/Grant Programs," at http://www.fws.gov/endangered/grants/grant-programs.html.
22.	Provisions for the program are contained in annual appropriations laws; the program has no separate authorizing statute. Note that the program operated somewhat differently during the years when it received an appropriation from LWCF (FY2001-FY2007).