Bills in the U.S. House and Senate could provide more than $31 million per year in federal funds for coastal protection and restoration projects, outdoor recreation, environmental education and fish and wildlife conservation.

The bills (HR 701 and S 25) propose to reallocate federal funds raised from offshore oil and gas development. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, a Maryland Republican, and Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski are among the sponsors.

For the most part, programs for fish and game species -- rockfish, deer, turkey, for example -- are paid for with funds raised through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and excise taxes collected on the sale of hunting and fishing equipment.

However, while this funding has remained stable -- about $5 million a year for wildlife alone -- costs have risen in many areas.

"In the past 10 years, the need for conservation of many fish and wildlife species and the basic increase in the cost of doing business has dramatically outpaced the funding for these programs," said Lowell Adams of the Maryland Wildlife Advisory Committee. "Conflict between residents and the suburban white-tailed deer population is an issue that was non-existent in the 1970s. It is just one example of the increased demand placed on state fish and wildlife agencies with stagnant or declining budgets."

Non-game animals make up more than 80 percent of the species in the state, and conservation funds for those species comes almost entirely from income tax checkoffs for the Chesapeake Bay and the Endangered Species Fund.

House and Senate versions of the Conservation and Restoration Act of 1999 propose to provide $5 million to $7 million for fish and wildlife and for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Around Alone update

The leaders in Class II have completed Leg 3 of the Around Alone sailing race, and Class I skipper Marc Thiercelin of France has left the Falkland Islands for Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Russian Viktor Yazykov, in fourth place, closed on the finish line, short of water and beset by mechanical problems aboard Wind of Change.

"Every day, every night, something is happening. Keeps me busy," Yazykov said in an e-mail as he approached Punta del Este. "Two days ago the autopilot stopped working. Set the sails [to balance the helm] and lashed the tiller to continue."

The next morning, Yazykov opened an aft hatch to retrieve fresh water and found the compartment flooded with seawater and a number of freshwater jugs contaminated.

"So I have been busy bailing like mad for a few hours," he said. "Almost all fresh water lost."

Then the autopilot resumed operation, only to fail when the winds built; the jib furling gear proved inadequate; a heavy fog rolled in and the radar antenna jammed.

"Well, the important thing [is] we have found a way to cope with all these endless troubles," he wrote. "Cooked a good meal and drank a can of beer to keep the crew happy. We have only two cans left, so two days to get to Punta."

The first three Class II boats in were J.P. Mouligne (France), Mike Garside (Britain) and Brad Van Liew (U.S.). The three remaining Class II competitors are still more than 1,800 miles from the finish.

Pub Date: 3/11/99