Letter to the editor: Conrad thanked for support of conservation fund

U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad deserves special thanks for his support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. LWCF is not funded by taxpayers, but rather from federal offshore oil and gas royalties.

Thanks to nearly $48 million of investments over the past four decades, LWCF is helping to preserve some of North Dakota’s most treasured historical sites and natural areas. For me as a duck hunter, I especially appreciate that LWCF provides funding to conserve one of the last remaining and most threatened prairie ecosystems in North America through voluntary conservation easements. The Prairie Pothole region or “Duck Factory” produces the majority of waterfowl raised and harvested in the United States, helping fuel our nation’s multi-billion dollar hunting and outdoor recreation economy. Each year, 190,000 sportsmen and 148,000 wildlife watchers spend $269 million on wildlife-associated recreation in North Dakota.

LWCF is intended to be reinvested in our nation’s natural resources and mitigate environmental impacts. But these funds are consistently raided for other purposes, shortchanging North Dakota of critical investments for our state’s economy and outdoor heritage.

Conrad recently joined 48 other senators on a bipartisan letter urging passage of LWCF funding for conservation by the end of this Congress. I thank Conrad for his leadership on behalf of North Dakota and its residents.

(Martin is North Dakota state chairman of Ducks Unlimited)

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