September 3, 2024, marked the 60th anniversary of the passing of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), our nation’s premier federal conservation funding program. At the time of its creation, LWCF was to receive yearly allocations of $900 million in royalties from energy companies that drill on the Outer Continental Shelf. The goal was to take revenue from the depletion of oil and gas sites and to use the proceeds to protect federal lands and to create grants for state and local parks, trails and recreation areas. It has since grown to offer grants for the protection of wildlife areas, forests, and critical drinking water supplies.

The passing of this bipartisan legislation in 1964 allowed for the investment of over $22 billion in local, state, and federal projects over the next 60 years. The LWCF State and Local Assistance Program has funded over 46,000 projects, with a project site being found in every county in the country. LWCF expired in 2018 but received permanent reauthorization and funding through the passing of the Great American Outdoor Act (GAOA) of 2020.

LWCF is also the federal funding partner for the Highlands Conservation Act (HCA), that was enacted in 2004 to protect the Highlands region of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Since then, over $70 million of Congressionally appropriated LWCF funding has leveraged over $41 million in matching funds from private, state, and local funders. These funds have been used to protect 14,000 acres and complete over 40 projects across the 4-state region.

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of LWCF, we’re also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Highlands Conservation Act. Learn more and watch a short video about the Highlands program on the Fish and Wildlife Service’s website.

As of September 2024, the Pennsylvania Highlands region has benefitted from LWCF funding through the Highlands program at 11 completed project sites. Some of the sites that have been recipients of HCA grants through LWCF are William Penn State Forest, Nockamixon State Park, and Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center State Park. Through management by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the security of funds through GAOA, there are yearly funding opportunities for projects that work towards the land protection and stewardship goals of HCA.

Throughout the month of September, we encourage people to get outside and celebrate LWCF’s anniversary by visiting a park or trail that has benefited from LWCF, whether in the Pennsylvania Highlands or elsewhere. A map to explore every HCA location can be found here and a list of those projects is available from the Fish and Wildlife Service. Other locations of LWCF funded projects, across the country, can be found here.