By Ray Hohenstein, USCM Intern
July 26, 2004

In a two-and-a-half hour hearing on July 21, The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and National Resources heard testimony from a diverse panel on the Americans Outdoor Act (S.2590). The proposed legislation mandates full funding for both the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR) and the state grant program of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

Charles Jordan, former park official and current chairman of The Conservation Fund, testified in support of UPARR. As he described, UPARR was created in 1978 to provide federal grants and technical assistance to help economically-distressed cities and communities build and maintain high-quality recreation facilities. Most UPARR grants have been used to rehabilitate playgrounds, recreation centers, ball fields, neighborhood parks, swimming pools, picnic areas and basketball and tennis courts. Despite its successes, Congress has not funded UPARR for the last two years. AOA would mandate $150 million annually for the program.

The LWCF is the major program through which the federal, state and local governments acquire, consolidate, and improve land and water areas. Since its inception in 1964, it has been responsible for many notable projects, including Everglades National Park (FL), Grand Canyon National Park (AZ), and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, as well as more than 40,000 community parks. The LWCF is comprised of both federal and state grants, and AOA would ensure the state grant program would receive its fully allocated $450 million annually.

By guaranteeing full funding for these programs, AOA reaffirms policy resolutions that have been adopted by the conference calling for full funding of UPARR and the stateside program of LWCF. As Henry Diamond, chairman of Americans for our Heritage and Recreation testified, the "ability to preserve land across a continuum of jurisdictions — federal, state, and local — is critical...[to preserving] our nation's dwindling open space."