Land conservation bill ready to sign
Scott Richardson ~ 2009-03-26
The Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) authorization bill has passed Congress and is headed to the the President’s desk.
The program was established in 2002. CELCP grants have been used to bolster land conservation efforts along the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire.
According to the NOAA website, CELCP was established…
...to protect coastal and estuarine lands considered important for their ecological, conservation, recreational, historical or aesthetic values. The program provides state and local governments with matching funds to purchase significant coastal and estuarine lands, or conservation easements on such lands, from willing sellers. Lands or conservation easements acquired with CELCP funds are protected in perpetuity so that they may be enjoyed by future generations.
The CELCP authorization act was included in H.R. 146, which combined more than 150 public-lands measures into a single package. The bill passed the Senate late last week. The House passed it yesterday by a vote of 285-140.
Previous Article: A new climate change resource online
Next Article: Phase-out