Since its creation in 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has funded hundreds of thousands of conservation projects across the United States, both protecting land and providing iconic outdoor recreational spaces such as the Appalachian Trail and Joshua Tree National Park. Now, a new interactive map is here to make it easier for you to access and enjoy these beautiful spaces.
Created by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, which sometimes uses LWCF grants for conservation work, the map lets anyone zoom in on whatever city or town they choose and check out what parks and trails exist there.
Users can easily access the map to find federal, state, and local projects that have been funded by LWCF. Prior to this project, the data on all those different initiatives had never been available all in one place. It may not be 100 percent comprehensive, explains Myke Bybee, legislative director of Trust for Public Land, but it includes over 150,000 individual project records. “I hope people are excited and surprised to see the breadth and amount of projects that have been completed,” he says.
On top of the projects, the map highlights how much more work needs to be put into land conservation, and also shows how such projects can help provide more equitable access to nature. If you’re curious to see what conservation land lies in your vicinity, you can check out the map here.
