U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was in Lafayette to announce a grant to the Acadiana Nature Station.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke was in Lafayette Tuesday to announce a $100,000 grant to the Acadiana Nature Station, part of a $1.6 million allocation to the state.
The distribution is from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund for approved outdoor recreation and conservation projects.
At the Acadiana Nature Station in Lafayette, the money will be used to build a bridge to access more than 100 acres of land, said Stacey Scarce, nature station curator. About six years ago, more than six miles of trail were created on the land where more than 50 species of butterflies have been documented, she said.
"We'll be able to access all that," Scarce said. "We can bring school groups over there."
Lafayette Consolidated Government is contributing a $100,000 match.
The LWCF is funded with revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. It's used to protect and grow national parks, wildlife refuges and recreation areas.
Zinke said there are parts of the LWCF he'd like to reform. Louisiana's congressional delegation has a valid argument that all the LWCF revenue is offshore but Louisiana only receives $1.6 million of that. Landlocked Montana receives more from LWCF than Louisiana.
At one time, Zenke said, the federal government shared those revenues 50-40 with states, where states had more voice in where the money was spent. With more of a local voice, projects like the bridge at the Acadiana Nature Station will be built.
Zenke was the guest speak for a luncheon of the Louisiana Offshore Oil and Gas Association in Lafayette Tuesday. The news media was not allowed to cover his speech.
Asked later what he spoke about, Zenke said the Interior Department has a dual role: Energy and stewardship.
"We have to make sure that industry is held accountable," he said. "That regulation is appropriate."
Government, Zinke said, needs to work with its conservation team as well as its energy team for the benefit of all.
"Government should not be adversarial," he said. "It needs to work with people all the way down to the community level."
The Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act is an example of working together in all levels, from the federal to the state to the local, Zinke said.
The interior Department needs to be reorganized, Zenke said, so everyone is on the same page with input from stakeholders.
Zenke said he's working with U.S. Sen. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, and U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Louisiana, on funding for the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which provides for Gulf Coast states and LWCF to receive part of Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease revenues.
The interior secretary said he's personally concerned about Louisiana's disappearing coast, where a football field of land is eroding every hour.
The GOMESA should include cleaning up some of the bureaucracy, such as taking years to get a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit, he said.