what is lwcf?
Created by Congress in 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is the nation’s premier grant program to protect our parks, trails, wildlife habitat, working lands, and open spaces.
Using zero taxpayer dollars, the fund invests earnings from offshore oil and gas leasing to help strengthen communities, preserve our history, and protect our national endowment of lands and waters. The LWCF program can be divided into the “State Side” which provides grants to State and local governments, and the “Federal Side” which is used to acquire lands, waters, and interests therein necessary to achieve the natural, cultural, wildlife, and recreation management objectives of federal land management agencies.
The program has been chronically underfunded, leading to a number of missed opportunities for investing in important areas in Washington State. The Coalition works to ensure our Congressional delegation provides robust funding for LWCF.
Join the Coalition in calling for full, dedicated funding and reauthorization of the program by contacting your elected officials and letting them know how important this program is to you!
LWCF in Washington State
LWCF has invested $710 million in protecting the places that matter most to Washingtonians, like Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Columbia Gorge, local parks, working forests and wildlife refuges throughout the state.
Check out a full list of LWCF projects in Washington state.
National LWCF Coalition
This national organization is a broad-based coalition of conservation, recreation, environment, business, historic, and cultural organizations working together to secure full and dedicated funding for LWCF. Visit their site.