The PA Highlands Resources Interactive Map has been updated. This map can be found on the homepage of the Pennsylvania Highlands website. Explore over 40 features on the interactive map that cover recreational resources, federal and state funding opportunities, environmental justice communities, the US FWS Highlands Resource Priorities, and other features. In addition to reviewing this information, you can also locate these resources within a specified distance from a defined location, through the “Resources Near Me” tab. This update is based on interviews conducted for the AMC Conservation Planning Tools Survey in 2023 and aims to provide information to help our partners make informed decisions on land conservation and planning efforts in the Pennsylvania Highlands region. Check it out at – https://pahighlands.org/

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.

Celebrating the completion of a 3-mile segment of the Highlands Trail through the park, National Trails Day, and the 20th anniversary of the Highlands Conservation Act. →

October 12, 2023 9AM: My wife’s car was in the shop in Hellertown, 26 miles away. I live adjacent to Musser. With this opportunity, I took the time to run almost the entire Highlands trail system. →

Join the Appalachian Mountain Club, DCNR, the Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape, and additional Highlands Trail partners to celebrate the completion of a 3-mile segment of the Highlands Trail through Nockamixon State Park! This new section of trail connects the Marina Day Use Area to the Haycock Boat Launch, closing a gap in the Highlands Trail network. In its full completion, the Highlands Trail will connect Nockamixon State Park to Quakertown borough.  →

Joël Nankman, owner of Saucon Valley Bikes, is originally from Suriname, South America, former Dutch Guiana. He traveled around the Caribbean and Europe racing and working at various bike shops, where he met his wife, a Lehigh Valley native. Relocating to the US, in 2010, he started working for Saucon Valley Bikes, before accepting a job with Bicycling Magazine. In August 2022, he purchased Saucon Valley Bikes while focusing mainly on mountain bike endurance racing.   →

The Appalachian Mountain Club, Lehigh University, and PA DCNR partnered to produce a wayside panel located at the Lake Nockamixon spillway. →

Ed has been a cyclist his whole life and started racing when he was 12 years old. 44 years later, Ed is still cruising along in the bike industry serving the greater Quakertown area with his business Mr. Ed’s Mobile Bike Repair.  →