Novel Ideas for Funding Nature Education

(Tacoma) News Tribune – March 13, 2008
By Jeffrey P. Mayor

Last week I talked with Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods.” His book energized individuals, organizations and agencies nationwide to work at reconnecting today’s children with nature.

Louv was in Olympia to join the celebration of Washington’s effort to leave no child i nside, the focal point being the $1.5 million appropriated last year by the Legislature to fund nature education programs.

Seeking a combined $8.9 million, 235 groups applied for part of the money. The grants will be awarded early next month. That means many applicants are going to be disappointed.

The demand shows one of the largest obstacles to maintaining the momentum Louv created – money.

The Sierra Club’s Martin LeBlanc, one of the driving forces behind landing that money, says his organization plans to go back to the Legislature next year. “It will be tough; there will likely be a recession. We want to get a source of sustainable funding,” he said.

While I agree with LeBlanc that it will be difficult, I don’t understand why. Our political leaders have shown they understand how important this issue is by setting aside the $1.5 million. Why would they not be willing to find a way to fund nature education programs on an annual basis?

As I listened to Louv, LeBlanc and others, three ideas came to me to funnel money in to an ongoing Washington Nature Education Fund:

License plates: The state currently issues 16 specialty license plates that feature nature or education. In December, there were 39,351 specialty plates promoting wildlife, parks, cycling, skiing and colleges and universities on Washington vehicles. That raised more than $1 million for various organizations. Surely groups such as Washington’s National Parks Fund or The Evergreen State College would be willing to share some of the proceeds. Taking $5 from each new plate or renewal, would generate about $200,000 for the fund.

Nature-based equipment tax: According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s 2006 national survey, nearly $1.6 billion was spent on wildlife-associated equipment. That could be shotgun shells for duck hunting, binoculars for bird-watching or a new rod for steelhead fishing.

We already have the Pittman-Robinson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration programs. Funds are generated by federal excise taxes on purchases of firearms, ammunition, archery and angling equipment and boat motor fuels. Washington received more than $14 million in fiscal year 2008 from those programs.

Think of the funds a Washington nature education tax could generate.

Private partnership: I won’t ask the government to do this alone. REI is noted for financial support – it will dedicate $3.7 million for conservation and recreational access in the coming year. But let’s ask the members of REI to help. Each March, the 3.4 million active members get a dividend. Could the company create a check-off program that allows the 396,000 members in Washington to donate all or some of their dividend to our nature education fund?

I’ll have to give a tip of the hat to REI. This year, for the first time, the company allowed members to donate their dividends to the REI Foundation, which supports programs connecting kids with the outdoors.

I have other ideas – like increasing fines for violations of state fish and wildlife laws, with the additional money going to the fund, or a 25-cent surcharge on recreational fishing and hunting licenses could generate about $325,000. We could do the same for commercial licenses.

I’m sure there are other ways we can spread the burden among private individuals, organizations and businesses. The number of applicants drives home the need for sustainable funding. The political will to appropriate the $1.5 million was there once. I have to think we could find that will again.

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