Members of Sen. Jon Tester's (D-Mont.) sportsmen's advisory group yesterday urged the freshman lawmaker to push for increased funding for land conservation and vigorously oppose policy riders included in the House's fiscal 2012 Interior Department spending bill.

Tester, who sits on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, offered no promises but said he would fight to protect investments in land and wildlife conservation that pay dividends to the American taxpayer.

Those investments should include the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which increases access to public lands, and programs to conserve wetlands and waterfowl and keep wildlife off the federal endangered species list, according to the handful of sportsmen and women who participated in yesterday's conference call.

Tester convened his 19-member Montana Sportsmen's Advisory Panel in February to give him input as chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus.

"We are in a difficult financial situation," said Tester, who has co-sponsored measures that would guarantee full funding for LWCF at $900 million. The House's original spending measure included $62 million for LWCF, the lowest amount in more than 40 years and nearly 80 percent below current funding levels.

"One thing that's important is we can't cut the legs out from under the things that really increase revenue," Tester said.

Sportsmen on the call urged a boost in funding for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, which leverages matching grants to protect bird habitat, and a cooperative endangered species program that helps states keep wildlife off the endangered species list, safeguarding economic development.

The sportsmen, many of them representing conservation groups, also urged Tester to rid the Senate bill of policy riders, including one that prevents agencies from managing bighorn sheep in a way that would reduce livestock grazing on public lands.

"Bighorn sheep face a ton of problems in this world," said Ben Lamb, conservation director for state and national issues for the Montana Wildlife Federation. "Congress weighing in on this bill isn't helping."

Kathy Hadley, Western vice chairwoman of the National Wildlife Federation's board of directors, also urged Tester to fight House riders blocking U.S. EPA from regulating greenhouse gases or issuing guidance clarifying Clean Water Act jurisdiction.

None of the participants addressed a controversial rider from Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) that would prohibit groups from legally challenging a future delisting of the gray wolf in Wyoming. That state and Interior yesterday announced a final agreement on a wolf conservation plan that will likely lead to the animal's delisting by the Fish and Wildlife Service (E&ENews PM, Aug. 3).

Other House riders would prohibit Interior from banning future mining claims near the Grand Canyon and would curtail environmental reviews for grazing. EPA would also be banned from implementing a host of air, water and solid waste regulations.

Republican lawmakers argue that many of the regulations are overly burdensome and hurt the economy and job growth.

Lamb thanked Tester for inserting language in Congress' 2011 funding bill in April that delisted the wolf in Montana and Idaho and prevented environmental lawsuits. A U.S. district judge in Missoula yesterday ruled that previous courts have deemed similar moves constitutionally sound (see related story).

Tester, while not commenting on any specific policy riders, said the House bill lacked transparency and that the sportsmen's comments will make his messaging to Democratic leaders more effective.

"We're going to get another bite at this apple," he said. "It's going to be very important that we make sure some common sense is applied here. There's some crazy stuff that goes on in the House, and the Senate isn't entirely void of that."

Senate Republican leaders said this week that they believe the chamber will turn to an omnibus package or continuing resolution to fund the government for fiscal 2012, rather than approving individual appropriation bills (E&E Daily, Aug. 3).

The Senate successfully repelled most of the House's proposed riders when the two chambers met in April to iron out a continuing resolution for the rest of fiscal 2011. Two notable exceptions were Tester's wolf rider and a controversial rider to overturn Interior's wilderness policy.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), ranking member on the panel that funds Interior and EPA, said this week that she is unsure which, if any, policy riders she intends to support next month.

"There are so many issues that impact my state within the Interior budget," she said. "We're going down through a whole range of issues right now and trying to figure out how to prioritize. Just because I'm ranking member doesn't mean I get everything I want."