Biodiversity Factory - Tight budget limits growth of protected area
Federal funds drying up for Patoka River's ...
By Mark Wilson (Contact)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
So many different kinds of animals and plants live in the wet, fertile areas of Pike and Gibson counties that make up the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge that it is often described as a "biodiversity factory."
Endangered whooping cranes stop there during migration. Eagles nest there, as does a colony of endangered Indiana bats.
JASON CLARK / Courier & Press A male red-winged blackbird pauses on top of a sign near the Snakey Point Marsh in the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge recently. The land was one of the first acquired by the refuge, which was established in 1994. With a lack of funding for land acquisition over the past several years, private buyers have been purchasing property within the refuge and acquisition boundary for personal use and private development.
But with funding crunches limiting governmental efforts to buy land to expand the refuge, there are concerns that too many people could join the birds and animals.
Twenty miles long from east to west, the refuge includes 30 miles of meandering Patoka River channel, with wetlands and bottomland hardwood forests that provide habitat for waterfowl, migratory birds and other wildlife. It is home to at least 20 plant and 62 animal species that are considered endangered or of special concern to Indiana.
More than 380 species of wildlife, including 223 bird species, have been documented there, according to the Audubon Society, which in 2006 approved the refuge's inclusion in its worldwide Important Bird Area program.
The refuge was conceived and approved to be one contiguous land area with an emphasis on protection and restoration, said Bill McCoy, Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge manager.
"The goal was to protect a diversity of habitats and improve water quality by managing the area as a unified whole," he said. "We tried to put it together as whole management unit."
Instead, McCoy said, the refuge has become a confusing jigsaw of private and public lands. Some tracts are isolated and difficult to get to because of other properties, making access for public use a problem.
No money, no growth
The refuge has received no funding to buy land for three years. It is a situation that almost has become the status quo since the refuge was established in 1994 and authorized to acquire up to 22,472 acres across Pike and Gibson counties.
National wildlife refuges can grow and become what they were intended to be only by acquiring land from willing sellers, McCoy said. But Patoka River has been able to buy only 5,946 acres since 1994 because of a lack of funding.
An additional 2,946 acres on 31 different tracts are currently on a list waiting to be purchased. But nearly as much acreage already has been lost to outside buyers.
"I have seen 2,000 acres sold to other purchasers because we couldn't act," McCoy said. "Speculators buy it and subdivide it. What we are seeing happen to this refuge is that it is going to new owners who only want to develop it."
Some buy the land for private hunting and fishing rights, hauling in trailers or building sheds and cabins for camps. Others buy it to sell the timber, lease it for hunting or with hopes of promoting oil or coal production.
Landowner impact
Often, the new landowners want access to their properties through refuge land, opening up the possibility of ecological damage.
"That has impacts. They use four wheelers, horses, dogs. They all manage their land differently than what we might," McCoy said. "It's a free market out there, and we are at a distinct disadvantage without funds to act when opportunities to purchase land become available."
Congress has not appropriated funding for Patoka River to acquire new land since it gave the refuge $250,000 in 2005, McCoy said.
"I keep a list of interested sellers. Currently, there are 264 landowners. Some own an acre, some own over 1,000," he said. "We are losing opportunities all the time because we don't have the money."
Before the refuge buys a property it has to order an appraisal. It is the landowner who makes the final decision whether to sell.
"The advantage to the landowner to selling to the refuge is that there is no cost at all. They get cash on the barrelhead with no hidden costs," McCoy said.
Funding frustrations
Only about 31 percent of the 71 federal wildlife refuges received funding to acquire new land in 2008. Congress appropriated $20,676,000 for wildlife refuges this year. But in the Tri-State, only the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge near Paducah, Ky., received any of it, $492,000. The Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Illinois and Patoka were not funded.
It's a situation that endlessly frustrates supporters such as Richard and Sue Vernier, Princeton, Ind., residents who have been active supporters of the refuge along with the Evansville Audubon Society, largely because of its significance as a bird habitat.
Part of their frustration has been the perception that funding to acquire land for national wildlife refuges is a waste of tax dollars.
The Verniers point to studies showing the economic benefits to local communities of national wildlife refuge visitation and the economic effect of activities associated with birding.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study released last year found nearly 35 million people visited wildlife refuges in the continental United States for recreational purposes in 2006. Most of those visitors — 87 percent — came from outside the refuges' local areas.
Their spending generated almost $1.7 billion of sales in regional economies, resulting in nearly 27,000 jobs and more than $542 million in employment income, the study said.
"We're hoping that Patoka will have that kind of an impact," Richard Vernier said.
But first, Sue Vernier said, the refuge needs to grow.
"It has to have more contiguous acres," she said. "It's a quality of life issue."
Dedicated funds
The refuge is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one of four federal agencies that receive annual appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, established by Congress in 1964 for acquiring recreational lands.
Each year, Congress is authorized to appropriate up to $900 million from the fund for conservation. Most of the money comes from oil and gas leases on the outer continental shelf. Other funding sources are federal outdoor recreation user fees, a motorboat fuel tax and surplus property sales. But whatever Congress doesn't appropriate each year stays in the Treasury, where it can be spent for other federal activities.
The fund was created, the Verniers argue, precisely for acquiring lands such as those that could be filling out Patoka's boundaries.
"It's like I keep having to re-educate everyone. This is not an earmark. It's a dedicated fund," Sue Vernier said.
The reality is that land acquisition is only part of what the fund actually is used for, according to a 2005 Congressional Research Service report. The fund received more than $28 billion between 1965 and 2005, but during that time Congress appropriated only $14.3 billion, the report said. In every year since 2000, Congress has authorized spending money from the fund for things other than acquiring land.
Even if Congress spent the full $900 million on buying land each year, according to the report, it would take more than 10 years to catch up with the backlog of more than $10 billion in potential land acquisitions.
"Land acquisition in this budget climate is very difficult. There are a number of areas that just don't get funds to acquire lands. Patoka is one of them," said Jon Kauffeld, who supervises wildlife refuges in six states, including Indiana.
Even with grants and donations, there are more willing sellers and more potential land acquisition projects than can be done.
The refuge may not be able to use its most recent grant — a $96,000 award specifically designated for buying a prime 1,000-acre tract from Peabody Coal Co. The property is appraised at $1.3 million, McCoy said, and the refuge has no federal funding to make up the difference.
"That's my greatest fear. The whole thing could be developed. The land is currently leased for private hunting. They have told me I need to come up with the funds now, in 2008. Right now I have no guarantee of anything," he said.
Legislative support
The refuge is in the middle of its fiscal year, and McCoy isn't expecting any 2009 appropriations to come through until after the November election.
Under the Bush administration's budget proposals, only a handful of wildlife refuges are slated for land acquisition funding each year. No funds were set aside again for Patoka in 2009 in the president's budget, leaving it susceptible to the political and procedural complexities of Congressional budgeting.
Former 8th District representative John Hostettler declined to support funding, writing that he believed it was beyond the intent of the Constitution.
However, Ellsworth, a first-term representative, as well as veteran Sens. Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar, have all sought funding, although not always successfully, in the past. Ellsworth visited the refuge in 2007, pledging his support for it.
"Hopefully this year we will be able to put on a little more pressure. This is such a valuable project," Ellsworth said.
Spokespersons for Lugar and Bayh also said the senators continue to support Patoka and are expected to request funding for buying land again this year.
"He is making it a priority to help secure resources as far as land acquisition," said Jonathan Swain, Bayh's press secretary.
Mark Hayes, deputy press secretary for Lugar, noted that the senator worked to establish Patoka in 1994.
Although hopeful, McCoy remains doubtful.
"I can't say why they are ineffective but they are ineffective. At least (Hostettler) was right up front about it. He just didn't believe in it," he said. "It's all focused on from where the greatest pressure is coming from."
Federal funds drying up for Patoka River's ...
By Mark Wilson (Contact)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
So many different kinds of animals and plants live in the wet, fertile areas of Pike and Gibson counties that make up the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge that it is often described as a "biodiversity factory."
Endangered whooping cranes stop there during migration. Eagles nest there, as does a colony of endangered Indiana bats.
JASON CLARK / Courier & Press A male red-winged blackbird pauses on top of a sign near the Snakey Point Marsh in the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge recently. The land was one of the first acquired by the refuge, which was established in 1994. With a lack of funding for land acquisition over the past several years, private buyers have been purchasing property within the refuge and acquisition boundary for personal use and private development.
But with funding crunches limiting governmental efforts to buy land to expand the refuge, there are concerns that too many people could join the birds and animals.
Twenty miles long from east to west, the refuge includes 30 miles of meandering Patoka River channel, with wetlands and bottomland hardwood forests that provide habitat for waterfowl, migratory birds and other wildlife. It is home to at least 20 plant and 62 animal species that are considered endangered or of special concern to Indiana.
More than 380 species of wildlife, including 223 bird species, have been documented there, according to the Audubon Society, which in 2006 approved the refuge's inclusion in its worldwide Important Bird Area program.
The refuge was conceived and approved to be one contiguous land area with an emphasis on protection and restoration, said Bill McCoy, Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge manager.
"The goal was to protect a diversity of habitats and improve water quality by managing the area as a unified whole," he said. "We tried to put it together as whole management unit."
Instead, McCoy said, the refuge has become a confusing jigsaw of private and public lands. Some tracts are isolated and difficult to get to because of other properties, making access for public use a problem.
No money, no growth
The refuge has received no funding to buy land for three years. It is a situation that almost has become the status quo since the refuge was established in 1994 and authorized to acquire up to 22,472 acres across Pike and Gibson counties.
National wildlife refuges can grow and become what they were intended to be only by acquiring land from willing sellers, McCoy said. But Patoka River has been able to buy only 5,946 acres since 1994 because of a lack of funding.
An additional 2,946 acres on 31 different tracts are currently on a list waiting to be purchased. But nearly as much acreage already has been lost to outside buyers.
"I have seen 2,000 acres sold to other purchasers because we couldn't act," McCoy said. "Speculators buy it and subdivide it. What we are seeing happen to this refuge is that it is going to new owners who only want to develop it."
Some buy the land for private hunting and fishing rights, hauling in trailers or building sheds and cabins for camps. Others buy it to sell the timber, lease it for hunting or with hopes of promoting oil or coal production.
Landowner impact
Often, the new landowners want access to their properties through refuge land, opening up the possibility of ecological damage.
"That has impacts. They use four wheelers, horses, dogs. They all manage their land differently than what we might," McCoy said. "It's a free market out there, and we are at a distinct disadvantage without funds to act when opportunities to purchase land become available."
Congress has not appropriated funding for Patoka River to acquire new land since it gave the refuge $250,000 in 2005, McCoy said.
"I keep a list of interested sellers. Currently, there are 264 landowners. Some own an acre, some own over 1,000," he said. "We are losing opportunities all the time because we don't have the money."
Before the refuge buys a property it has to order an appraisal. It is the landowner who makes the final decision whether to sell.
"The advantage to the landowner to selling to the refuge is that there is no cost at all. They get cash on the barrelhead with no hidden costs," McCoy said.
Funding frustrations
Only about 31 percent of the 71 federal wildlife refuges received funding to acquire new land in 2008. Congress appropriated $20,676,000 for wildlife refuges this year. But in the Tri-State, only the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge near Paducah, Ky., received any of it, $492,000. The Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Illinois and Patoka were not funded.
It's a situation that endlessly frustrates supporters such as Richard and Sue Vernier, Princeton, Ind., residents who have been active supporters of the refuge along with the Evansville Audubon Society, largely because of its significance as a bird habitat.
Part of their frustration has been the perception that funding to acquire land for national wildlife refuges is a waste of tax dollars.
The Verniers point to studies showing the economic benefits to local communities of national wildlife refuge visitation and the economic effect of activities associated with birding.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study released last year found nearly 35 million people visited wildlife refuges in the continental United States for recreational purposes in 2006. Most of those visitors — 87 percent — came from outside the refuges' local areas.
Their spending generated almost $1.7 billion of sales in regional economies, resulting in nearly 27,000 jobs and more than $542 million in employment income, the study said.
"We're hoping that Patoka will have that kind of an impact," Richard Vernier said.
But first, Sue Vernier said, the refuge needs to grow.
"It has to have more contiguous acres," she said. "It's a quality of life issue."
Dedicated funds
The refuge is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one of four federal agencies that receive annual appropriations from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, established by Congress in 1964 for acquiring recreational lands.
Each year, Congress is authorized to appropriate up to $900 million from the fund for conservation. Most of the money comes from oil and gas leases on the outer continental shelf. Other funding sources are federal outdoor recreation user fees, a motorboat fuel tax and surplus property sales. But whatever Congress doesn't appropriate each year stays in the Treasury, where it can be spent for other federal activities.
The fund was created, the Verniers argue, precisely for acquiring lands such as those that could be filling out Patoka's boundaries.
"It's like I keep having to re-educate everyone. This is not an earmark. It's a dedicated fund," Sue Vernier said.
The reality is that land acquisition is only part of what the fund actually is used for, according to a 2005 Congressional Research Service report. The fund received more than $28 billion between 1965 and 2005, but during that time Congress appropriated only $14.3 billion, the report said. In every year since 2000, Congress has authorized spending money from the fund for things other than acquiring land.
Even if Congress spent the full $900 million on buying land each year, according to the report, it would take more than 10 years to catch up with the backlog of more than $10 billion in potential land acquisitions.
"Land acquisition in this budget climate is very difficult. There are a number of areas that just don't get funds to acquire lands. Patoka is one of them," said Jon Kauffeld, who supervises wildlife refuges in six states, including Indiana.
Even with grants and donations, there are more willing sellers and more potential land acquisition projects than can be done.
The refuge may not be able to use its most recent grant — a $96,000 award specifically designated for buying a prime 1,000-acre tract from Peabody Coal Co. The property is appraised at $1.3 million, McCoy said, and the refuge has no federal funding to make up the difference.
"That's my greatest fear. The whole thing could be developed. The land is currently leased for private hunting. They have told me I need to come up with the funds now, in 2008. Right now I have no guarantee of anything," he said.
Legislative support
The refuge is in the middle of its fiscal year, and McCoy isn't expecting any 2009 appropriations to come through until after the November election.
Under the Bush administration's budget proposals, only a handful of wildlife refuges are slated for land acquisition funding each year. No funds were set aside again for Patoka in 2009 in the president's budget, leaving it susceptible to the political and procedural complexities of Congressional budgeting.
Former 8th District representative John Hostettler declined to support funding, writing that he believed it was beyond the intent of the Constitution.
However, Ellsworth, a first-term representative, as well as veteran Sens. Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar, have all sought funding, although not always successfully, in the past. Ellsworth visited the refuge in 2007, pledging his support for it.
"Hopefully this year we will be able to put on a little more pressure. This is such a valuable project," Ellsworth said.
Spokespersons for Lugar and Bayh also said the senators continue to support Patoka and are expected to request funding for buying land again this year.
"He is making it a priority to help secure resources as far as land acquisition," said Jonathan Swain, Bayh's press secretary.
Mark Hayes, deputy press secretary for Lugar, noted that the senator worked to establish Patoka in 1994.
Although hopeful, McCoy remains doubtful.
"I can't say why they are ineffective but they are ineffective. At least (Hostettler) was right up front about it. He just didn't believe in it," he said. "It's all focused on from where the greatest pressure is coming from."
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