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Federal Lands

Bishop: LWCF Must Be Reformed to Help Americans

| Posted in Press Release

The Committee on Natural Resources today held a legislative hearing on the Protecting America’s Recreation and Conservation (PARC) Act discussion draft, which proposes to reauthorize and reform the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Chairman Bishop commented following the hearing: “Today, we heard from states and local park advocates on the need for more money for the successful…

Bishop Letter to U.S. Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze

| Posted in Letters

TO: The Honorable Neil Kornze FROM: Rob Bishop, Chairman Dear Director Kornze:  I am writing to express concerns regarding the Bureau of Land Management's ("BLM") proposed updates to Onshore Orders 3, 4, and 5. Collectively, these orders address the measurement, collection and securing of information relating to produced oil and natural gas on federal lands. I understand the BLM…

Bishop: Onshore Orders Regulation Needs Stakeholder Input to Protect Future Federal Land Development

| Posted in Press Release

Today, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) sent a letter to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Neil Kornze, outlining concerns with the BLM’s proposed revisions to how the federal government measures and verifies oil and gas production rates on federal lands (Onshore Orders 3,4, and 5). “I am deeply concerned that the BLM did not regularly engage industry stakeholders to ensure that any…

Committee Unveils Federal Footprint Map

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the Committee on Natural Resources released the Federal Footprint Map, which details the immense scale of federal land ownership and regulation in the United States.  This interactive tool gathers data from federal agencies and will be used as an educational resource for Members of Congress and their staff, reporters, and the public.  Chairman Bishop (R-UT)…

Bishop Releases Land and Water Conservation Fund Reforms

| Posted in Press Release

Today, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) released a discussion draft of legislation titled the “Protecting America’s Recreation and Conservation (PARC) Act,” which includes several substantive reforms to update the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), enacted in 1965. “The LWCF’s current lopsided funding ratio makes limited funds available to establish recreation projects and facilities that…

Wall Street Journal: Government Land Grab

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

The Obama Administration has spent years invading broad parts of the economy from finance to health care, but less noticed is the takeover of, well, actual land. Witness the standoff over a 50-year-old public land program that has devolved into a watering hole for seizing private property. The Land and Water Conservation Fund, whose Congressional authorization expired on Sept.…

Bishop Response to WSJ Editorial on the Land and Water Conservation Fund

| Posted in Press Release

Today, House Committee on Natural Resource Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement in response to an editorial in the Wall Street Journal: “One of the harshest things that a government can do is to take away a citizen’s land and home.  The fact that for 50 years the Land and Water Conservation Fund has been misused to jeopardize private property rights, a…

Bishop Requests Information from Departments on Federal Land Grabs Through LWCF

| Posted in Press Release

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting information about federal agencies recent land acquisitions and stewardship of existing federal lands. The request for information was made as the Committee finalizes…

Bishop: Special Interests Will Not Prevent Congress from Modernizing LWCF, Protecting State and Local Recreational Access

| Posted in Press Release

House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) today issued the following statement on efforts to modernize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Act of 1965. “Both Republicans and Democrats support the original intent of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but the program has drifted far from the original intent.  Under my chairmanship, the status quo will…