What follows is the detailed explanation for the January 26, 1999 Bluestem Network Action Alert.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 21, 1999, President Clinton reaffirmed the Administration's commitment to protecting our nation's natural treasures. The President told the nation that the recently proposed "Lands Legacy Initiative" was a top priority. The next step was to ensure the this landmark initiative got the support in Congress that it deserved.

The Lands Legacy Initiative would provide a tremendous boost to our wildlands Campaign by recognizing the importance of protecting our most grand wild places.

The proposal would increase federal land acquisition funding to $442 million, and would provide for land acquisition in California's Mojave Desert, New England national forests and wildlife refuges, and the Florida Everglades, among others. In addition, it calls on Congress to grant permanent wilderness designation for over 5 million acres in some of our most valued national parks, refuges and monuments.

At the same time, the initiative stresses the need to preserve natural wonders in our very backyards, by providing $558 million to state and local governments, private land trusts, and other non-profit groups for land acquisition, forest habitat protection, urban park restoration, and other open space and species protection initiatives. Finally, the initiative includes funds for federal and state efforts to protect valuable ocean and coastal resources.

The initiative includes a $900 million funding request for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, known as LWCF, marking the first time an Administration has requested full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Moreover, the initiative presents a commitment to seek legislation to take the LWCF "off budget", virtually guaranteeing its full funding in the future!