Earlier this month, Congressman Ryan Mackenzie joined non-profit partners from the Appalachian Mountain Club, Wildlands Conservancy, and the Delaware and Lehigh Nation Heritage Corridor at Wildlands Conservancy’s South Mountain Preserve. The group hiked throughout the property to share their work on conservation in the Lehigh Valley. The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was of special note as funding from that grant program was used to purchase Allentown’s Reservoir Park, which borders South Mountain, and collectively the two properties make the 750-acre Robert Rodale Preserve.

LWCF funding has also been used throughout the Lehigh Valley to protect parts of the Pennsylvania Highland’s, through the Highlands Conservation Act grant program, within LWCF. The Highlands is a unique region, through four states, that provides drinking water to a large portion of the mid-Atlantic region. It is also a crucial wildlife habitat and recreation area that has gained increased federal recognition since 2004.

Despite permanent authorization in 2020 through the Great American Outdoors Act, LWCF has faced recent threats from Washington. Due to these threats, there have been risks to projects that are currenting in progress or development. Representative Mackenzie has been a vocal supporter of protecting LWCF and ensuring that these important conservation tools stay intact not just for the Highlands region but for the entire country. This visit served not only as a time to thank Representative Mackenzie for the work that he is doing to protect the Highlands but to also show him parts of the landscape that has been preserved through federal programs. With the work of non-profits and support Representatives, LWCF will still be a critical funding source used to protect the nation’s land and water for generations to come.