L-CHIP Contends With Steep Cuts

By Doug MacPherson on Tuesday, August 12, 2003.

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One of the casualties from the state budget debate is New Hampshireï¿½s newest conservation program. State lawmakers slashed spending for the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, or L-CHIP, by more than 90-percent. Local groups say they have limited opportunities to replace an effective program. But some lawmakers who voted for the cut say L-CHIPï¿½s success shows state money isnï¿½t needed. New Hampshire Public Radioï¿½s Doug MacPherson reports.

THE BUILDING THAT HOUSES THE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE MUSEUM IN EXETER WAS ONCE THE HOME OF NEW HAMPSHIREï¿½S FIRST GOVERNOR, JOHN TAYLOR GILMAN.

TAPE SFX FOOTSTEPS
TAPE BURDICK 318 this room is called the Sullivan roomï¿½. [FADE AND HOLD UNDER] :05

THE MUSEUMï¿½S DIRECTOR, FUNI BURDICK, LEADS THE WAY TO ONE OF THE MUSEUMï¿½S MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS.

TAPE BURDICK 326 This is a copy of the first issue of the declaration of independence. :05

THE MUSEUM HAS WHATï¿½S KNOWN AS A ï¿½DUNLAP BROADSIDEï¿½ ï¿½ ONE OF ONLY 26-KNOWN COPIES OF THE DECLARATION THAT WERE CIRCULATED TO BE READ THROUGHOUT THE COLONIES LONG BEFORE ALL THE SIGNATURES WERE COLLECTED ON THE FORMAL DOCUMENT. ONE OF THE RARE BROADSIDES LAY HIDDEN IN THE MUSEUMï¿½S ATTIC FOR MORE THAN 200-YEARS. IN 1985 AN ELECTRICIAN DISCOVERED IT UNDER A FLOORBOARD. TODAY, THE MUSEUM DISPLAYï¿½S A PHOTOCOPY.
THE MUSEUM IS ALSO HOME TO TWO EVEN RARER DOCUMENTS.

TAPE BURDICK 339 these are facsimiles of drafts of the U.S. constitution. :04

BURDICK POINTS TO A PRINTED DOCUMENT THAT LOOKS VAGUELY SIMILAR TO THE CONSTITUTION MOST SCHOOL CHILDREN STUDY. THE MARGINS OF THE MUSEUMï¿½S VERSION ARE COVERED BY FADED HANDWRITING. THE WRITING BELONGS TO NICHOLAS GILMAN, ONE OF NEW HAMPSHIREï¿½S TWO DELEGATES TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION HELD IN PHILADELPHIA IN 1787.

TAPE BURDICK 341 he took notes as to what people were saying and how they wanted to draft this federal constitution. And so these handwritten notes are his floor notes. :12

READING GILMANï¿½S NOTES IS LIKE WATCHING THE CONSTITUTION BEING CREATED. ASK BURDICK WHAT THESE DOCUMENTS ARE WORTH, AND ITï¿½S LIKE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW ON STEROIDS.

TAPE BURDICK 381 we know the dunlap broadside is valued at approximately eight and a half million dollars, and that these two drafts of the constitution areï¿½ priceless. :10

TOO VALUABLE, IN FACT, TO EXHIBIT IN THE MUSEUMï¿½S CURRENT FACILITIES.
THATï¿½S WHY THE MUSEUM MUST DISPLAY COPIES.

TAPE BURDICK 375 we have a humidty control problem, we have a light control issue, we will certainly have a safety control issue should there be a fire /// 378 and we also have a security issue. :10

THE MUSEUM HAS OTHER ISSUES: IT CANï¿½T ACCOMMODATE ALL THE SCHOOL GROUPS THAT WANT TO VISIT; IT NEEDS MORE EXHIBITION SPACE. THE SOLUTION MAY LIE RIGHT NEXT DOOR.

TAPE: SFX STREET NOISE OUTSIDE FOLSOM TAVERN. 297 TO 309

THE FOLSOM TAVERN WAS BUILT AROUND 1775. GEORGE WASHINGTON NEVER SLEPT HERE, BUT ON A NOVEMBER MORNING IN 1789, HE DID STOP BY FOR BREAKFAST. THE MUSEUM ACQUIRED THE BUILDING IN TIME TO SAVE IT FROM DEMOLITION, BUT IT LIES IN DISREPAIR. ESTIMATES TO RESTORE THE TAVERN AND CONNECT IT TO THE EXISTING MUSEUM RUN CLOSE TO TWO MILLION DOLLARS.
MUSEUM OFFICIALS HAVE RAISED HALF A MILLION DOLLARS, AND HAD PLANNED TO APPLY FOR AN EQUAL AMOUNT FROM L-CHIP.

TAPE BURDICK 250 and then I got an email that said, well, weï¿½re not sure how much weï¿½re going to get cut. We believe itï¿½s going to go 12 million to eight million dollars. But keep working on your project, we believe in your project, and weï¿½ll keep you informed. And little by little the emails kept coming in and the number kept dwindling. /// 258 and then the last email was, no, the decision has been to cut historic structures completely. And that we will not be taking applications for your building. :33

BURDICK VOWS THE PROJECT WILL GO ON, BUT SHE ADMITS RIGHT NOW, SHE DOESNï¿½T HAVE A PLAN.
TAPE BURDICK 284 we donï¿½t know who weï¿½re going to turn to, and so itï¿½s left us a little bit out of the water. :07

FUNDING FOR L-CHIP WENT FROM A HIGH OF 7-MILLION DOLLARS LAST YEAR, TO ONE MILLION DOLLARS THIS YEAR; HALF THAT AMOUNT NEXT YEAR; AND NO MONEY EITHER YEAR FOR HISTORIC PROPOSALS.

WHEN STATE LAWMAKERS APPROVED L-CHIP THREE-YEARS AGO, THEY DIDNï¿½T EXPECT THE PROGRAM WOULD ï¿½SOLVEï¿½ EVERY NEED OF EVERY COMMUNITY THAT WANTS TO CONSERVE OPEN SPACE AND PROTECT HISTORIC PLACES.
INSTEAD, THEY EXPECTED L-CHIP TO FUNCTION AS A CHALLENGE, OFFERING EXPERTISE AND MATCHING FUNDS TO REWARD LOCAL EFFORTS.
AND L-CHIP DIRECTOR RACHEL ROUILLARD SAYS THE PROGRAM HAS EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS.

TAPE ROUILLARD 130 for every project that we fund, one dollar of our money leverages over four and a half dollars from other sources. [///And there is no other investment that this state has at this time that has a return like that, a 450-percent return.] :16

SOME SUPPORTERS SAY L-CHIP HAS INSPIRED A PHENOMENON NO ONE FORESAW. IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, ABOUT 15-TOWNS, MOSTLY FAST-GROWING COMMUNITIES NEAR NEW HAMPSHIREï¿½S SEACOAST, HAVE ESTABLISHED LARGE FUNDS FOR CONSERVATION. VOTERS IN THESE TOWNS HAVE APPROVED AN AVERAGE OF 3-MILLION DOLLARS TO PROTECT OPEN SPACE.
TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE TOWN OF DURHAM. DURHAM RESIDENT ED VALENA SERVES ON A COMMITTEE THAT WORKED SUCCESSFULLY THIS SPRING TO PERSUADE VOTERS TO BOND 2-AND-A-HALF MILLION DOLLARS FOR PRESERVATION. VALENA SAYS DURHAM VOTERS WERE MOTIVATED IN PART BY A DESIRE TO STRETCH THEIR MONEY BY ENABLING THE TOWN TO COMPETE FOR L-CHIP FUNDS.

TAPE VALENA 102 that was one of the big selling points, was that we could take our money and get matching funds. :05

VALENA IS DISAPPOINTED THERE WILL NOW BE VERY FEW L-CHIP FUNDS TO MATCH, BUT HE SAYS DURHAMï¿½S CONSERVATION EFFORTS WILL CONTINUE.

TAPE ED VALENA 180 itï¿½s gonna make it more difficult, but these resources ï¿½ natural resources, are important to us and important to the whole town. /// it means weï¿½ll have to work harder. :08

THAT TYPE OF DETERMINATION SENDS A MIXED MESSAGE. TO L-CHIP SUPPORTERS, IT DEMONSTRATES THE VALUE OF THE PROGRAM.
BUT TO DETRACTORS, IT CASTS DOUBT ON THE NEED FOR THE PROGRAM AT ALL. IF 15-TOWNS ARE WILLING TO SPEND MILLIONS TO PROVIDE A MATCH FOR L-CHIP, MAYBE, SOME SAY, IT DOESNï¿½T NEED ANY OF THE STATEï¿½S SCARCE RESOURCES.
ASK SENATOR RUSSELL PRESCOTT, REPUBLICAN FROM KINGSTON, IF THEREï¿½S A NEED FOR L-CHIP, AND PRESCOTT POINTS TO THE ANNUAL ROADRACE HE ORGANIZES TO BENEFIT THE BOY SCOUTS.

PHONE TAPE PRESCOTT That to me is what limited government is all about. Relying on yourself and your efforts and the community to pull together and get the job done. :09

PRESCOTT BELIEVES LAST YEARï¿½S RACE RAISED MORE THAN ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
BUT SOME KEY STATE LAWMAKERS SAY A TOTAL RELIANCE ON LOCAL RESOURCES CREATES NEW PROBLEMS.
REPRESENTATIVE NEIL KURK OF WEARE, CHAIR OF THE HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE, NOTES THAT THE TOWNS THAT HAVE RAISED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO MATCH L-CHIP ARE AMONG THE WEALTHIEST COMMUNITIES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.

PHONE TAPE KURK And Iï¿½m concerned that the failure of lchip funding, the very low level that we have now, is going to skew what happens in this state, so that we see the property rich communities improving their lot and preserving open space, and the property poor communities are the ones that will be filled in with more development, and more children, more school problems, and more of the problems that come with heavy growth. :29

L-CHIPï¿½S BACKERS HAVE LONG FEARED THE PROGRAM WOULD FALL VICTIM TO A FISCAL CRISIS, AND HAVE CALLED FOR A DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE, SUCH AS A HIKE IN THE STATEï¿½S REAL-ESTATE TRANSFER TAX. REPUBLICAN SENATOR RICHARD GREEN OF ROCHESTER VOTED TO CUT L-CHIP. NOW HE SAYS HEï¿½S BEEN BRAINSTORMING WITH SUPPORTERS OF THE PROGRAM TO COME UP WITH A PERMANENT FUNDING SOURCE. BUT GREEN ALSO SAYS ANY SUCH SOURCE FACES AN UPHILL BATTLE.

TAPE GREEN 323 we have a philosophy in state government right now, thatï¿½s lead by the governor, that theyï¿½ll be no new taxes and no increase in existing taxes. So, we get over that political hurdle then weï¿½ll start talking about the reality of whether that can be done.

EVEN L-CHIP SUPPORTERS SAY THE SIZE OF THAT ï¿½HURDLEï¿½ IS FORMIDABLE. FOR N-H-P-R NEWS, Iï¿½M DOUG MACPHERSON.