Open spaces get new funding
With only six days left in the
2007 legislative session, the New Hampshire House and Senate budget
negotiators reached an agreement to restore funding to preserve New
Hampshire, with the popular Land and Community Heritage Investment
Program (LCHIP).
As part of the state’s biennial budget, lawmakers agreed to
fund LCHIP at $12 million—a level not seen since 2001. The LCHIP
program traditionally receives appropriations from the legislature that
go directly to projects to conserve the state’s natural and historical
resources. The funding covers an average of 20 percent of the project
cost, with communities raising the additional funds from other sources
to match it.
How LCHIP works
As the state
government’s only funding mechanism for preserving land and historic
properties, LCHIP has proven effective. In the first three years the
program protected more than 200,000 acres and 80 historical structures.
But budget cuts reduced its funding to only $750,000 on average per
year, making it difficult to stand up to the rising pressure to develop
open spaces.
LCHIP will receive $6 million from the state’s
general fund in 2008. In 2009, the program will be funded through a $25
fee on documents recorded at the ten county deed registries.
Crawford Notch, New Hampshire
