Bush Task Force on Conservation to Hold Public Hearing on Wednesday
(Austin, TX)-The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club today criticized Governor George W. Bush for what they termed "the Governor's cynical attempt to obscure his lack of leadership on conservation issues in Texas by creating a last-minute task force to bolster his environmental credentials." Sierra Club spokespersons said, however, that they would work with the task force out of respect for its members and because of the urgent land and wildlife conservation issues facing Texas that have been ignored thus far by Governor Bush. The task force will hold its only scheduled public hearing on Wednesday, April 12 in Austin.
Bush created the Governor's Task Force on Conservation in February of this year for the avowed purpose of recommending "strategies to conserve Texas natural resources and promote outdoor recreation in the 21st Century." The issues to be addressed by the task force include fragmentation of habitat, endangered species recovery, conservation incentives, nature tourism, and enhancement of the state park system. "While these are all important conservation issues that need to be addressed," said Sierra Club state director Ken Kramer, "Governor Bush has exercised no leadership in the arena of land and wildlife conservation during his five years as Governor of Texas. His task force on conservation was created only after he began receiving national criticism for his poor environmental record during his current bid for the presidency."
"During Governor Bush's tenure, sprawling developments in Texas have eroded open space and destroyed wildlife habitat while the Governor has remained silent on the issue," said Brian Sybert, natural resources director for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. "According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released in December 1999 Texas loses a quarter of a million acres of open space a year. Due to population growth, urban sprawl, and a lack of leadership from Governor Bush in responding to these developments, Texas is far behind the curve when it comes to land and wildlife conservation. Governor Bush's indifference to this issue for the past five years is in startling contrast to the leadership of governors in other states such as Florida, New Jersey, and Maryland, where aggressive attempts to conserve land and wildlife have been made."
Sybert said that the state park system has also suffered greatly under Bush's tenure as Governor. Texas ranks 49th in the nation among the 50 states in per capita spending on state parks. While George W. Bush has been governor of Texas, said Sybert, state purchases of new parkland has come to a virtual halt. Moreover, the state park system continues to suffer from a huge maintenance backlog of tens of millions of dollars.
Sybert noted that the Governor had the opportunity in the 1999 state legislative session to increase funding for the state park system by supporting legislation to lift the cap on the dedication of revenue for state parks from the sporting goods sales tax. Again, said Sybert, Bush failed to support and push such legislation. As park usage increases and the demand for additional outdoor recreation continues to increase, it is clear, contended Sybert, that the state of Texas is not prepared to provide the level of quality outdoor recreational opportunities its citizens desire.
"We have no question about the sincerity of the individuals appointed to the Governor's Task Force in wanting to address these issues, and we will assist the task force in developing recommendations to the Governor," concluded Sybert. "We do question the sincerity of Governor Bush on these critical conservation issues. The Governor should have addressed land and wildlife conservation issues during his first term as Governor rather than waiting until he needed to embellish his environmental record while running for president. We wonder what will become of the task force report due to the Governor in November at a time in which he expects to be elected President of the United States."
Information Note: The Governor's Task Force on Conservation is scheduled to hold its next meeting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 12 at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Auditorium, 4801 La Crosse Avenue in Austin. The meeting will be open to the public for comment on any or all of the above mentioned conservation topics.