Caleb Abbott
Protecting California's Deserts with LWCF

All too often overlooked for their ecological value, the California’s Mojave and Colorado deserts feature stunning biodiversity, surpassing even many forest ecosystems. More than 2,400 native plant species, 72 occurring nowhere else on earth, reside in the windswept dunes, craggy mountains, life-giving waters, and other habitats that encompass the region. This landscape makes up 27% of the state’s land mass, sequesters 10% of its carbon, and is the nation’s largest relatively intact ecosystem outside of Alaska. This, however, belies the fragility of California’s deserts, which face unprecedented pressures from climate change and development.

Protecting California's Deserts with LWCF
Caleb Abbott
Congress Must Reject Proposed $100 Million ...

After almost 60 years of fighting against diversion of Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) dollars, in 2020, the LWCF Coalition celebrated passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). This legislation secured permanent funding for LWCF at $900 million dollars annually, creating a consistent funding stream for conservation and outdoor recreation projects. By protecting our natural and cultural treasures, working forests and wildlife habitat, permanent LWCF funding ensures outdoor access for all Americans no matter where they live, clean safe drinking water, natural climate mitigation, and jobs in our communities. Yet, despite all these benefits and the overwhelming bipartisan will of Congress, LWCF is still under threat.

Congress Must Reject Proposed $100 Million Rescission of LWCF
Caleb Abbott
Prized Ranch on the Yakima River to be ...

The Yakima River is one of the West’s premier desert trout streams and a lifeline for fish and wildlife of southcentral Washington. It flows 214 miles from Keechelus Lake in the Cascade Mountains to the Columbia River, with a glorious 27-mile stretch through the Yakima River Canyon. In the upper reaches of the canyon, Western Rivers Conservancy is using recreational access funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to place cherished river access points into public hands forever.

Prized Ranch on the Yakima River to be Conserved and Opened to Public Thanks to LWCF
Caleb Abbott
LWCF in the Delaware River Watershed

As the longest undammed main stem river east of the Mississippi, the Delaware River Watershed (DRW) provides drinking water to over 13.3 million people in the region, including two out of the five largest metropolitan centers in the country: New York City and Philadelphia, along with the cities of Camden, Trenton, and Wilmington.

LWCF in the Delaware River Watershed
Allison Springer
The Maine Woods

The effects of climate change are all around us: extreme heat and cold weather; forest fires raging in the west; floods devastating crops and land in the Midwest; rising sea levels and storm surges taking lives in the south; shorter, more erratic winters here in the northeast. We must act.

Conservation is one of the many tools that can help alleviate the effects of a changing climate. Protected lands provide ecosystem services and natural resiliency, which is why nations around the world, including the U.S., are committed to the goal of conserving 30% of the planet’s land and waters by the year 2030.

Lying at the heart of the Northern Appalachian-Acadian Forest, the most intact, unfragmented ecoregion east of the Mississippi, Maine’s forest houses more than half of the largest globally important bird area in the United States. The cold waters of the area support the last stronghold of native wild Eastern Brook Trout in the U.S. The Western Maine Mountains are home to more than 139 rare plants and animals, including 21 globally rare species, and provide core habitat for marten, lynx, loon, and moose. Maine’s vast North Woods have a significant role to play in mitigating and adapting to a changing climate. Our 17.5 million acres of forest absorbs 60% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions annually, while harboring a wide range of wildlife. Unfragmented forests offer microclimates and habitat connectivity, and shelter cold waters, all of which add up to tremendous resilience in the face of change.

The Maine Woods

LWCF

Public Access Into Zion National Park Permanently Protected BY LWCF

Public Access Into Zion National Park Permanently Protected BY LWCF

For 16 miles, hikers weave their way down the Zion Narrows Trail as it follows the Virgin River through one of the most iconic spots in Zion National Park.  The hike covers difficult rocky, narrow terrain; however, up until recently, that wasn’t the greatest challenge to completing the trail. Just last year, hikers were greeted to a sign reading: “Permission to Pass Subject to Trespassing Fee,” “For Sale By Owner. Own Over 1 Mile of the Zion Narrows,” and “880 Acres with Water and Resort Potential.” This came as a great shock to many who assumed the trail was protected for public use, but a dispute with the landowner who had previously always allowed access, led the National Park Service to stop issuing permits for the trail.  The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), America’s most important conservation program used to protect this type of land from private development, had recently expired and the gateway to Zion National Park was at real risk of being home to a resort or trophy home.  

LWCF Invests in Green Infrastructure

LWCF Invests in Green Infrastructure

When we think of green infrastructure, a conservation program like the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, LWCF has been investing in our nation’s green infrastructure for over a half century through protecting and filtering drinking water, reducing disaster risk, increasing coastal resiliency, providing flood mitigation, and supporting carbon sequestration. In every county in all 50 states and in U.S. territories, our national, state, and local parks, forests, wildlife areas, and other public lands are a critical network of green infrastructure that need continued investment in order to protect nearby communities from the effects of our changing climate.

For more information: cabbott@outdoorsamerica.org