The Coalition is excited to highlight many of our ongoing priorities with a new series of guest blogs. We hope this will serve as an educational resource that will encourage our members, prospective members, and the public at-large to advocate for Delaware River Watershed priorities in the coming year. We are kicking-off the series with a guest blog highlighting the amazing work of the Land and Water Conservation Fund through the Appalachian Mountain Club.
By: Danielle Guttman (she/her), Conservation Outreach Manager: Mid-Atlantic, Appalachian Mountain Club
What is the Land and Water Conservation Fund?
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federally funded land conservation and outdoor recreation access program that’s been benefitting the country for over 50 years. LWCF helps to protect watersheds and drinking water supplies, preserve our national heritage, and conserve natural areas and open space for wildlife and recreation. Permanent funding of $900 million/year through the Great American Outdoors Act, signed in August 2020, means we will continue to have this successful program for many years to come.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund can be broken down into two categories: Federal Land Acquisition Programs and State Grant Programs.
The Federal Land Acquisition Programs side of LWCF provides funding for agency purchases of property in fee or using easements from willing sellers. This is not a traditional grant program but one for federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (UFWS) to acquire lands.
The State Grant Programs side of LWCF has multiple programs underneath it: State and Local Assistance Program (LWCF Stateside), Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP), American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), Forest Legacy Program (FLP), Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (Section 6), and the Highlands Conservation Act Grant program. Information about each of these programs can be found at: Overview — The Land and Water Conservation Fund (lwcfcoalition.org)
Allocations and Projects in the Delaware River Basin
LWCF Stateside, administered by the NPS, offers state and local grants to support community parks, trails, recreational access sites and open spaces which promote active and healthy lifestyles in the community. LWCF provides a 50:50 matching grants to States and through the States to local units of government for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. Every year, LWCF funds are distributed throughout the country using a population-based formula. Let’s take a look at how LWCF benefits the Delaware River Watershed --
Photo By Nicholas A. Tonelli from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania - Mountaintop Meadow (3)
Parks in Phillipsburg, New Jersey such as Green Street Park and Delaware River Park are examples of how the LWCF State and Local Assistance Program benefits local communities within the Delaware River Watershed. These development projects, both led by the Town of Phillipsburg, provided the opportunity to create new parks while protecting open space and giving the public access to safe recreation in their neighborhoods.
Another example of how the state grant program directly benefits our region is in Nockamixon State Park, Pennsylvania. The park has been a recipient of the LWCF Highlands Conservation Act Grant program to increase its boundary through fee acquisitions. Now at 5,286-acres, the state park provides the public with a beautiful and safe place to watch migrating waterfowl, hike, swim, bike, hunt, fish, and boat.
Through the LWCF Federal Land Acquisition Program, Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Pennsylvania was obtained by the UFWS in 2011. This federal acquisition was critical to protect important national resources and wildlife habitat areas found in the densely populated region of eastern PA. The public now has access to this land for responsible hunting, hiking, fishing, wildlife viewing, and cross-country skiing. This LWCF-funded acquisition also buffers five miles of the Appalachian Trail and protects forests that filter water draining into the Delaware River, a critical drinking water supply for more than 15 million people, including residents of the Delaware River Watershed.
These three project examples show us a small sampling of how LWCF has furthered the effort to protect lands and habitats in the Delaware River Watershed. An interactive map containing all past LWCF projects can be found at: Past projects – The Land and Water Conservation Fund (tplgis.org)
Appalachian Mountain Club – Moving it Forward
The Appalachian Mountain Club has always been a strong supporter of LWCF, and we will continue to advocate for its appropriate spending. AMC is also involved in the passage of LWCF’s Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act to ensure funding in the 4-state Highlands region of PA, NJ, NY, & CT through 2028 while also making programmatic changes.
You can learn more about the Appalachian Mountain Club’s work and priorities at: Conservation – Appalachian Mountain Club (outdoors.org)