The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced July 21 the distribution of more than $295 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and territories of the United States. The funding is available for recipients to promote outdoor activities and create and preserve outdoor spaces across the country, according to a National Park Service (NPS) news release.
“The Land and Water Conservation Fund helps further President Biden’s commitment to investing in America’s lands and waters, expanding access to the outdoors, and safeguarding the environment,” Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland said in the release. “These grants, matched primarily by state and local governments, will inspire collaborative conservation and improves equitable access to the outdoors for all."
The LWCF was created by Congress in 1964 but was not permanently funded until August 2020, according to the LWCF Coalition website. The fund was a bipartisan effort to “safeguard natural areas, water resources and our cultural heritage and to provide recreation opportunities to all Americans.”
“All communities are deserving of local outdoor recreation,” NPS Director Chuck Sams said in the release. “Through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the National Park Service is proud to help communities and local governments upgrade and create new outdoor spaces that are most beneficial and enriching to their community so that everyone is able to take part in outdoor recreation close to home."
Every year $900 million from offshore oil and gas drilling companies are paid into the LWCF, the coalition stated on its website. This helps protect and improve national parks, waterways and national forests. The funding also supports “matching grants for state and local parks and recreation projects.”
The state grant portion of the program has provided $4.1 billion in matching grants for state and local governments for more than 40 years, including 10,600 grants to acquire land for park and recreation spaces, according to the NPS. Nearly 3,000 grants have been used to redevelop facilities to improve access for disabled individuals.
Allocations from the fund vary significantly and are based on a formula set in the Land and Water Conservation Act and are “largely population-based,” the NPS release stated. California will receive nearly $25 million, more than any other state in the distribution, while Vermont will receive the least at $2,356,092.
Among U.S. territories, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Marianas, and Guam will all receive more than $2 million, while Puerto Rico will receive nearly $4 million, according to the NPS.
The funding is allocated between multiple bureaus in the DOI, according to the Bureau of Land Management, including the NPS, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service.
