Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2022

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for all of his work.

I rise, Mr. Speaker, to support my bill, the Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act, which would extend the Highlands Conservation Program for an additional 7 years, through 2029.

If you have hiked through any of the public lands in the Hudson Valley, chances are you have enjoyed the experience and benefited from the land conserved and protected by the Highlands Conservation Program. Even if you have looked upon the extraordinary works of art in the Hudson River School of painting, the most famous American school of painting, you will see these lands in the Hudson Highlands and wonder, as we who are lucky enough to live there do, at their beauty.

For nearly two decades, the Highlands Conservation Act has been a critical resource for the protection of these lands throughout a 5,500- square-mile area of the Highlands region covering New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

It includes many of our great State parks in my district, including Harriman State Park, Bear Mountain State Park, Schunemunk Mountain State Park, Storm King State Park, Hudson Highlands State Park, and Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park, to name a few.

The bill funds vital projects to safeguard our water supplies, conserve our forests, protect wildlife, expand outdoor public recreation opportunities, and save agricultural resources.

Over the past 18 years, the Highlands Conservation Act has delivered on its promise. It facilitated the permanent protection of nearly 13,000 acres of land, land that contributes to clean drinking water, protection of wildlife, expansion of recreation opportunities, and, of course, the sustainable economic growth that we all want.

Since 2007, New York has received over $14 million through the Highlands Conservation Act, funding that supported 18 specific projects conserving 4,000 acres throughout my district in the Hudson Valley.

For example, in 2015, the act helped incorporate over 230 acres of land into the Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park in Putnam County, right down the street from where I live. I spend a lot of time there. It is absolutely beautiful.

In 2016, funds from the Highlands Conservation Act helped conserve nearly 700 acres of land linking the western

Hudson Highlands to Schunemunk Mountain State Park in Orange County, and so much more.

It is also responsible for the addition of 1,200 acres that make up the Fishkill Ridge portion of the Hudson Highlands State Park.

More than 25 million Americans live within just an hour's drive of the Highlands region. By passing this bill today, we can ensure that the Highlands are protected and remain a beautiful natural resource for them and for our entire country for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, the Highlands Conservation Program has been an extremely effective program not just for my district but for the entire region and our country. The entire conservation community should congratulate itself today.

I want to mention a few local people: Mark Zakutansky with the Appalachian Mountain Club; Ned Sullivan and Andy Bicking with Scenic Hudson; Katrina Shindledecker and Michelle Smith with the Hudson Highlands Land Trust; and Tim Abbott with the Housatonic Valley Association. I thank them all for their extraordinary work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2793, the ``Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2022.'' The Highlands Conservation Act, a bipartisan land conservation program funded through the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), protects critical conservation areas in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. The Highlands is a nationally significant landscape that yields benefits and resources to more than 11 million Americans.

A boon to our agriculture and tourism economy, the bill authorizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. Forest Service to work together to help the Highland states, local governments, nonprofits and private forest and farm landowners to conserve the land and natural resources of the Highlands region, helping to lower costs for local farmers and preserve open spaces.

Since 2007, $70 million in funding has been awarded through the Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program to the four States, including $20 million to New York. The program has helped preserve nearly 11,000 acres in the Highlands region, including over 4,000 in the state of New York alone.

This bill will improve upon the already popular land conservation partnership projects made possible by the Highlands Conservation Act Grant Program. In consultation with conservation groups and the FWS, the Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act:

Reauthorizes this important program through 2028 with $20 million in annual funding.

Authorizes set-aside funding for the FWS to administer the program in a manner consistent with appropriations and other administered FWS programs.

Includes a process in which states can petition for new areas to be included in the Highlands region, thus allowing for expansion of the eligible areas.

Provides states with more complete information of what areas are ecologically connected.

Allows the petition process to be administered on a rolling basis to eliminate possible bottlenecks.

Gives FWS approval authority in the petition process, to remain consistent with how the program is currently administered.

Allows the FWS to modernize the science of conservation resource values in the region.

Responsible conservation is important for maintaining this country's beautiful lands. Mr. Speaker, the Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2022 achieves such ends, so I am proud to support this significant piece of legislation and urge my colleagues to as well.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2793) to reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act, to authorize States to use funds from that Act for administrative purposes, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2793, the Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act, is led by my colleague, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney. The bill reauthorizes funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service to protect and conserve the Highlands region.

The beautiful Highlands region spans 3.4 million acres across Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

This area has retained its splendor due in part to the passage of the Highlands Conservation Act of 2004, which authorized the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service to work with State and local governments and NGOs to conserve this ecosystem.

Since 2004, $28 million in Federal funds, matched by $53 million in non-Federal funds, have permanently protected almost 13,000 acres of land. These lands protect clean, safe drinking water; sustain healthy forests and wildlife populations; encourage productive agriculture; and provide quality recreation opportunities for the public.

I commend my colleague for his leadership on this bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act and ensure the continued success of this program.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney) and thank him for being the driving force in bringing this legislation to this point.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2793, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, to reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act.

The stated purpose of the Highlands Conservation Act, which was signed into law in 2004, is ``to recognize the importance of the water, forest, agricultural, wildlife, recreational, and cultural resources of the Highlands region,'' which, as was indicated, spans some 3.4 million acres across Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, ``and the national significance of the Highlands region to the United States.''

Under the current authorization, the Governors of these States identify conservation partnership projects in the region and submit a list annually to the Secretary of the Interior, who is tasked with working with the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a final list to Congress for approval and funding.

H.R. 2793 would reauthorize the Highlands Conservation Act and allow municipalities to enter into conservation agreements with the Department of the Interior. This bill is the product of bipartisan negotiations with the Committee on Natural Resources.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.