In the CARA compromise of 2000, Congress committed to 100% appropriation for the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act for six years.The LWCF is the tool by which govt buys private land. They also made the same committment to Urban Park and Recreation Recovery, National Historic Preservation Act, and Indian and Federal Land Restoration.
The full funding for LWCF is $900 mil/year with the feds and the states each getting $450 mil. You will note that the article mentions the reduction in the federal portion for year 2002. Bush requested, and Congress complied, in diverting this reduction into grants for private land owners to make environmental improvements to their properties. The article mentioned further reductions for year 2003. This is not a done deal, but Bush will be requesting this further reduction when he submits his budget. As with 2002, the reduction for 2003 will be diverted to grants for private land owners.
If you want to stop the govt from buying private land, TALK TO CONGRESS.