{"id":2273,"date":"2013-04-11T15:53:02","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T15:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhiking.org\/?p=2273"},"modified":"2021-08-06T12:10:49","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T16:10:49","slug":"the-land-and-water-conservation-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhiking.org\/the-land-and-water-conservation-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"The Land and Water Conservation Fund"},"content":{"rendered":"
LWCF Overview<\/b><\/h5>\n

Congress established the Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a monumental and forward thinking bipartisan environmental and outdoor recreation program, in 1965. The LWCF has been responsible for the acquisition of almost seven million acres of parkland and open space, and the development of more than 37,000 parks and recreation projects across the nation resulting in countless opportunities for outdoor recreation. These projects range from national parks, forests and wildlife refuges to community parks, trails and ball fields in all 50 states. \u00a0Hikers have benefited from LWCF through the funding of hundreds of local trail projects.\u00a0 The program is responsible for funding two major segments of the 2,100 mile iconic Appalachian Trail as well. Although the program can claim far-reaching successes, LWCF has been sorely underfunded, practically from its inception.<\/p>\n

How is LWCF Funded?<\/h5>\n

The idea behind LWCF seems is very basic and common sense: use the revenues from the depletion of one natural resource to conserve a different natural resource.\u00a0 Every year, $900 million of the\u00a0royalties paid by energy companies for the right to drill for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are put into this fund. The money is intended to create and protect national parks, areas around rivers and lakes, national forests, and national wildlife refuges from development, and to provide matching grants for state and local parks and recreation projects. Yet, nearly every year, Congress breaks its own promise to the American people and diverts much of this funding to uses other than conserving our most important lands and waters. As a result, there is a substantial backlog of federal land acquisition needs estimated at more than $30 billion\u2014including places vulnerable to development such as the Florida Everglades, Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, Civil War battlefields in Virginia and other special\u00a0places around the country.<\/p>\n

From Large Landscapes to Your Local Community Park<\/h5>\n

Federal Land Protection Program<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n