Conversion Restrictions of the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund
| Publication year | 1992 |
| Pages | 1417 |
1992, July, Pg. 1417. Conversion Restrictions of the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund
Since its enactment in 1965, the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund Act ("Act")(fn1) has been the cornerstone of state and local government programs to acquire land and develop facilities for public outdoor recreation.(fn2) Funded by revenues from three main sources---offshore oil and gas leasing and royalty revenues; sales of surplus federal lands; and federal motorboat fuel taxes(fn3)---the Land and Water Conservation Fund ("L&WCF") has been the source of more than $66 million in matching grants to federal, state and local governmental entities in Colorado.(fn4)
Since 1965, 192 governmental entities in Colorado have received L&WCF grants.(fn5) Among the more well-known outdoor recreation areas and facilities that have benefited from these grants are Castlewood Canyon State Park in Douglas County, the South Platte River Greenway in Denver, Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Fountain Creek Park in Pueblo and Clements Park in Jefferson County.(fn6) Nevertheless, despite the popularity of the L&WCF and the widespread acclaim it has received, many participants do not comprehend completely the strings that the federal government has attached to the fund. The most important is the restriction on the conversion of property acquired or developed with L&WCF monies.
This article discusses how the conversion restrictions affect the transfer of L&WCF-assisted property to nonrecreational uses.
The Act established a matching grant program to assist state and local governments in the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. Under the Act, all applications for such assistance must come from the state agency designated to administer the program.(fn7) In Colorado, the responsible agency is the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation ("Division").
The Act prohibits the direct submission of grant-in-aid requests from local units of government. However, it does recognize that this assistance should be made available to such governmental entities when proposals for public outdoor recreation areas and facilities of local interest are in conformity with the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan ("SCORP").(fn8) Thus, in Colorado, the Division frequently advises and assists local governments in the preparation of L&WCF project applications. All such applications are reviewed and ranked by the Division according to the degree to which each grant proposal furthers the objectives and the priorities of SCORP.(fn9) Top-ranked grant proposals approved by the Division then are submitted to the National Park Service ("NPS"), the federal agency responsible for administering the L&WCF.
State oversight of the disbursement and application of approved L&WCF monies is pervasive because the Act dictates such a role for participating states. This oversight responsibility attaches to each funded project for as long as it is being used to furnish public outdoor recreational opportunities. Furthermore, states are integrally involved in all cases where the project sponsor desires to terminate the public outdoor recreational use of lands or facilities acquired or developed with L&WCF assistance.(fn10) Under the administrative procedures of the L&WCF, a request for such a conversion can come only from the state liaison officer.(fn11) In Colorado, the Director
of the Division functions in this capacity. However, the final arbiter of conversion requests is the Secretary of the Interior.(fn12)
The NPS has identified four general types of changes in the ownership or use of L&WCF property sufficient to trigger the...
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