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Land And Water Conservation Fund Has Far-Reaching Impacts On Public Lands

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By NPT Staff - July 19th, 2015

With the Land and Water Conservation Fund set to expire in the near future, conservation groups are working to spread the word of the projects this fund has helped make possible across the country. From national parks in America’s western states to neighborhood playgrounds in the nation’s cities, thousands of open spaces in America have been made possible by the fund, according to The Wilderness Society.

The Wilderness Society has constructed the searchable map below by which you can search all 50 states for projects and parks supported by the fund.

"Across the country, it is hard to drive down the street without finding a park made possible by the Land and Water Conservation Fund," the Society says." In fact, there are more than 41,000 supported projects across the country. These parks range in size and scope from Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado to the basketball courts in Etna, Maine. These spaces shape and define American communities."

You can find out where these projects are via this zoom-capability map, created from data representing 50 years of projects. It can be searched by county and by national LWCF lands, and the full data set can be downloaded by clicking the “options” button.

Comments

Submitted by Scott from Colorado on July 20, 2015 - 2:06pm.

LWCF is monumental. Over the past 50 years it has protected critical lands that preserve wildlife and natural resources. These include places where I hike and camp, including destination trips to Utah and Arizona that bring tourist dollars to small towns.

LWCF's funding comes from royalties from oil and gas drilling on the outer continental shelf. Its land acquisitions are from willing sellers. It is supported by millions of Americans who benefit from public lands. In short this program is working well, so it deserves to be renewed -- ideally permanently.


Submitted by Tom Crawford on July 21, 2015 - 8:54pm.

The LWCF has been a great program that supports many projects that have contributed greatly to the financial stability of small towns all over our great United States of America. The reauthorization of this program is of great importance to the stability of many more comunities and to further provide outdoor opportunities for Americans and people of the world to come and view the beauty and diversity in America. Outdoor recreation could one day surpass all other industries in providing a living to Americans. Please reauthorization the LWCF ...Thank you Tom


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