- April 10th, 2013, President’s Budget Returns Oil and Gas Revenues to Land and Water Conservation, Boosting Tourism and Outdoor Recreation
- April 1, 2013, Local Elementary Students to Hand Deliver Thank You Notes for U.S. Senator’s Work to Protect Table Rocks, Oregon
- March 23, 2013, Senate Passes Budget that Returns Oil & Gas Revenues to Land and Water Conservation Fund
- March 13, 2013, LWCF Coalition Lauds Senate Budget for Commitment to Outdoor Economy, Ending Chronic Diversion of Conservation Funds
- March 7, 2013, LWCF Coalition Lauds Jewell for Commitment to Outdoor Economy
- February 14, 2013, Senators Introduce Bipartisian Bill to Renew and Improve Landmark Conservation Program
- February 6, 2013, LWCF Coalition Praises Nomination of Sally Jewell for Interior Secretary
- January 22, 2013, Statement from the Land and Water Conservation Fund Coalitionon the Retirement of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
- September 26, 2012, Coalition Praises Senate Subcommittee for Proposal to Increase LWCF Conservation Funding
- July 3, 2012, Americans Support Land Conservation as Patriotic, Even as Congress Moves to Cut Funding
- June 28, 2012, LWCF Coalition Decries Efforts to Strip Conservation Funding From Final Transportation Bill
- June 25, 2012, Over 1,000 Groups Urge Congress to Fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund
- June 20, 2012, LWCF Coalition Applauds Senate for Resounding Defeat of Proposal to Strip Forest Conservation Funding
- June 20, 2012, House Appropriations Panel Slashes Land Conservation and Forest Programs
- March 8, 2012 Coalition Applauds Senate for Dedicated Conservation Funding
- February 13, 2012 Coalition Applauds President's Continued Support for Conservation Funding
- December 17, 2011 Conservation, Business and Sportsmen Groups Applaud Congressional Efforts to Protect LWCF Funding in FY12 Budget
- July 25, 2011- New Bipartisan Poll Shows Overwhelming Support Across America for Land and Water Conservation Fund
- July 13, 2011- National Bipartisan Poll Memo
- May 31, 2011- Over One-Third of the U.S. House of Representatives Sign Letter Supporting Funding for LWCF
- April 14, 2011- Conrad Anchor Testimony Release
- December 20, 2010 - Senate Urged to Join House and Pass Bill with Full Funding for Conservation Program »
- August 3, 2010 - Senate Urged to Join House and Pass Bill with Full Funding for Conservation Program »
- July 15, 2010 - House Committee Passes Bill Securing Funding for Conservation and Recreation Program »
- April 16, 2010 - America's Great Outdoors Conference Focuses on Need for Vital Land, Recreation Funding »
- February 1, 2010 - Obama's Budget Includes Key Funding for Land & Water »
- November 6, 2009 - Senate Bill Would Fulfill Longstanding Promise for Conservation and Recreation Program »
- September 17 , 2009 - Coalition Supports Conservation at House Hearing »
32 Acres Added To Silvio O. Conte National Fish And Wildlife Refuge
Kristin DeBoer, Executive Director, Kestrel Land Trust, 413-695-3468, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
This is an excerpt from the original release written and distributed by U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service. Click here to read the full release on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website.
Hadley, Mass. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week acquired 32 acres in Hadley, Mass., for the Fort River Division of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.
The land had been subdivided into four house lots and put on the real estate market in July of 2011. To protect the land from development, the Kestrel Land Trust stepped in at that time to purchase the land until the Conte Refuge could acquire the property. The purchase was made possible with funds from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund with support from The Conservation Fund. [Click here to learn about our Land Trust Loan Program, which provided the financing]
"I was pleased to support this new addition to the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge using funds from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Protecting lands of local and national significance is a gift to future generations," said U.S. Representative John Olver.
The refuge division is in the heart of a mosaic of farmlands and grasslands extending north from the base of the Mt. Holyoke Range to the Fort River in Hadley and Amherst, Mass.
The newly acquired land at the Fort River Division will help protect the longest free-flowing tributary to the Connecticut River in Massachusetts. The Fort River and its surrounding provide habitat for the federally endangered dwarf wedge mussel and rare bird species.