upcoming LCHIP vote

[arghman]

to NH residents interested in land conservation (and its effect on preserving hiking opportunities), here is an FYI regarding LCHIP. This post is not intended to impose my views on anyone; if you feel like debating it here I'll do my best to stay out of any arguments.


The NH House is scheduled to vote this Wednesday Mar 9, on whether to appropriate funding for the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP). This is a state program that has helped fund thousands of acres of conservation land & easement purchases all over the state, many of which are open to the public for hiking & other low-impact recreational use, including two large projects in northern NH (the 170,000 acre Connecticut Lakes project in 2003, encompassing most of the Town of Pittsburg, and the Town of Randolph's purchase of 10,000 acres near the Pond of Safety, adjacent to the White Mtn National Forest). LCHIP's future appears rather tenuous at this point given state budgetary concerns.

Theoretically our state representatives are supposed to be considering their constituents opinions, so if you have a strong opinion on this issue you may want to contact them.

For more information see the link above or send me a PM (though I may not be able to respond before Wednesday.)

 

[arghman]

update: LCHIP got slashed again by the NH Senate Finance Committee to $750K per year in 2006 and 2007 (vs. $5M / yr proposed by Gov Lynch and $2.5M / yr reduced by the House).

If this is something you are concerned about, you may want to contact your state senator ASAP.