By Membership and Communications Manager Roxey Lay
Last month, on August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) was signed into law. If you’re unfamiliar with the Act, it has two main parts:
It establishes the National Park and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund, which provides $1.9 billion annually for the next five years ($9.5 billion total) for “priority projects that address the maintenance backlog at National Parks Service facilities, including campgrounds, picnic areas, roads, trails, and other critical infrastructure.” [1]
It permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) with $900 million annually “to invest in conservation and recreation opportunities across the country.” [1]
Ja Mar Farm in Middleborough was acquired, in part, with a LWCF grant.
Established in 1965, the Land and Water Conservation Fund was created “to protect national parks, areas around rivers and lakes, national forests and national wildlife refuges from development, and to provide matching grants for state and local parks and recreation projects.” [2] Authorized with a budget cap of $900 million when it was established, funding for the LWCF required annual congressional approval; however, this budgetary cap was only met twice due to large portions of its funding having been redirected to non-conservation projects year after year. Now, thanks to the passing of the GAOA, no approval is required and the LWCF will automatically receive its full funding annually.
The Shifting Lots Preserve trail map shows its proximity to Ellisville Harbor State Park. (click to enlarge)
The passage of this Act is a huge win for the conservation community. The permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund directly affects the work of state and regional land trusts to preserve and protect natural resources and landscapes across the country.
Over the last 50 years, Massachusetts has received $236.4 million through the LWCF. [3] Its grants have funded countless projects and initiatives, including the acquisition of Ja Mar Farm in Middleborough, a project Wildlands assisted on, and Ellisville Harbor State Park, which sits adjacent to Wildlands’ Shifting Lots Preserve; together, they protect a salt marsh estuary that provides habitat for numerous fish species.
Massachusetts contains just under 5 million acres of land, however, only 25% has been protected. [4] Having access to grants like those offered through the LWCF helps ensure organizations like Wildlands Trust can continue to protect critical habitat and natural resources throughout our region and state, and keep our communities connected to the natural world for years to come.