50th Anniversary of Land and Water Conservation Fund (1964-2014)
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Land and Water Conservation Fund into law 50 years ago this year.
Children line the C & O canal at Fletcher’s Boathouse in Washington, D.C.,
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is the federal program to conserve irreplaceable lands and improve outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the nation. The program works in partnership with state and local efforts to acquire and protect inholdings and expansions in our national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, national trails, and BLM areas. LWCF grants to states support the acquisition and development of state and local parks and recreational facilities. The LWCF is funded by a small portion of revenues derived from offshore gas & oil extraction which is reinvested in local communities to permanently conserve the land & water that sustains them.
Among the many diverse projects in Kansas supported by the LWCF are the Flint Hills Legacy Conservation Area as well as the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka. It has also helped secure sportsmen’s access to wildlife habitat on public lands across the United States. To view the anniversary report by the LWCF visit http://www.lwcfcoalition.org/files/LWCF_50thAnniversaryReport_FINAL.pdf
