The 2024 Highlands Conservation Act grant funding round has a new opportunity this year. This is a pilot opportunity called “Under-Resourced Communities Funding Round.” Using a map that can be found here, users are able to view “Underresourced Communities in the Highlands.” Parcels that qualify for this funding opportunity appear in a teal color. The goal of this funding opportunity is to provide conservation initiatives in areas where they have historically had less conservation initiatives present. The Fish and Wildlife Service selected these communities through the Council on Environmental Qualities Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool and the equivalent state level environmental screening tool, which in Pennsylvania is the PennEnviroScreen. But what are these tools and how do they determine which communities qualify?
In January 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14008, which established the Justice40 Initiative. This order puts a focus on climate change, environmental justice, and sustainable development. Justice40 declared that forty percent of certain Federal investments, relating to climate, clean energy, and affordable housing, were then supposed to be directed at communities that had been underinvested in the past and had disproportionately felt the effects of pollution. Some of the Justice40 initiatives include investments in affordable housing, workforce development, remediation of legacy pollution, and development of clean water and wastewater infrastructure.
In 2023, the state of Pennsylvania launched the most recent PennEnviroScreen tool. The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a national Environmental Justice (EJ) screening tool, Pennsylvania’s state-specific map allows for a more holistic screening that applies better to each community. While the complete methodology and report can be found here, the summary of what they used to apply the EJ status is this equation: Pollution Burden (Environmental Exposures and Environmental Effects) x Population Characteristics (Sensitive Populations and Socioeconomic Characteristics) = Final Score. Any final score greater than or equal to the 80th percentile then deemed it an EJ communities. It is these scores that help determine whether communities qualify for additional funding or support.
The new Highlands Conservation Act Grant funding round has created an opportunity to provide funding in areas that have previously had a lack of attention regarding conservation but had also been facing the largest impacts. While this grant funding round is a pilot program and not a guarantee for years to come, it is important to note the impact it can have, even just in one year, in the effort of making a more just future.