Nanjemoy, MD – Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) during a visit to Douglas Point State National Resources Management Area in Nanjemoy Friday, May 22.

Hoyer helped secure $2 million to preserve land at Douglas Point, which is funded through the Bureau of Land Management within the Department of the Interior.

Jewel called Hoyer a “true champion” of the environment, stating that Hoyer’s action allows Douglas Point to be enjoyed by Marylanders and all Americans.

She noted that the Bureau of Land Management oversees 31 million acres in the American west, which is largely mineral sites. She touted Hoyer’s actions toward Douglas Point, calling it “a treasure in our midst.

“Projects like this don’t get done without community advocacy,” she said.

She called the Land Water Conservation Fund, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, “one of the most vital pieces of legislation ever passed by congress.”

She said that 1,920 acres are preserved and that President Barrack Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget proposed increasing the Land Water Conservation Fund and they hope to purchase an additional 68 acres.

“I am hopeful that will go forward,” she said. “The more we can work together, the more effective we can be.”

Hoyer called Jewel an extraordinary, able advocate leader on behalf of the environment.

“I take credit for Douglas Point, that’s my job,” he noted. “I do not delude myself. An extraordinary member of my staff, John Berry, saw this opportunity and came to me and said, ‘we need to do this.’ This was back in the good old days of earmarks. Earmarks have been given a bad name. We were able to get a couple of million with $3 million from the state to protect and preserve properties like this.

“There is only one Douglas Point,” he added, stating that “we need to protect and restore places like this that are otherwise at risk of disappearing.”

He noted that the Land Water Conservation Act expires at the end of this month.

“Hopefully, we will come together to pass legislation so critical to urge congress to continue with our preservation efforts,” he said. “For years, congress had been raiding the fund to pay for other things. That practice must end.”

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com