Feds must make good on refuge funding promise
From special education money to Superfund cleanup funds, there are far too many examples where the federal government has brazenly shortchanged localities on long-made promises.
You can add to the list money that is supposed to be coming in through the National Wildlife Refuge Fund.
A Poughkeepsie Journal investigation found that more than 1,000 local governments, including here in the Hudson Valley, are not being fairly compensated for the loss of tax revenue.
Environmental reporter John Ferro discovered that Congress has unfunded localities by $714 million over 35 years, an astonishing figure. And virtually no one has noticed or raised any opposition to this willful neglect.
The money is provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to offset lost property tax revenues when lands become part of refuges and are not developed. Eighteen towns, three villages and one county in New York received the refuge payments last year -- but not the full amount they are entitled to receive. In some cases, the difference runs six figures; in others, like the Town of Shawangunk, it totals about $10,000 a year.
Congress has not fully funded this program since 1981. Essentially, as land values have gone up, Congress' appropriations have not kept pace.
The Journal’s findings come on the heels of federal officials quietly finalizing a plan that could have significant ramifications to eastern Dutchess County. They have prepared to buy or otherwise preserve up to 1,500 acres, part of a vision for a “Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge” that includes six Northeast states.
The plan is noble. Creating such a refuge would better protect dozens of species, songbirds, mammals, reptiles, and other wildlife. The Dutchess lands targeted for protection are part of more than 31,000 acres that could make up the refuge
Neverthless, if history is a judge, the area could get shortchanged financially by the federal government. For instance, the Town of Dover stands to receive nearly $2,000 in federal payments, but, unless Congress lives up to its obligations, the town likely will receive a fraction of that. Eastern Dutchess has struggled to get a firm economic footing, and no municipality can afford to be inadequately compensated by the federal government.
Fortunately, establishing this local refuge will take decades and will include parcels from willing landowners only. As that process begins, federal officials shouldn’t ignore the funding inadequacies any longer. The formula used in these cases must be addressed and updated at once.
To see a searchable database of the funds paid and owed through the National Wildlife Refuge Fund, go to http://bit.ly/2mc7y31