Protecting the Land and Water Conservation Fund

June 13, 2025-

During his first term, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors and Dingell Acts into law, permanently authorizing and funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) with broad bipartisan support. Since LWCF was first established in 1964— the same year the Wilderness Act was passed— it has used revenue from offshore oil and gas leases to fund conservation and recreation projects across the country, everything from expanding wilderness areas to building parks and playgrounds enjoyed by our communities. LWCF is critical to our work at the Trust, funding the majority of our transfers of properties to public ownership. 

Despite benefitting diverse communities in every state, for over 50 years LWCF wasn’t secure. The Great American Outdoors and Dingell Acts changed that, clearly establishing what LWCF could fund, defining how its $900 million would be allocated across its different programs each year, and removing the burdensome step of Congress having to reauthorize the funds every few years. To many, signing them into law was the shining conservation achievement of President Trump’s first term.

Given that history, when President Trump recently released his budget request to Congress, many were surprised to see it propose diverting over 40% of annual LWCF funds away from their intended use and programs to pay for deferred maintenance on public lands, virtually eliminating LWCF’s conservation acquisition program. As this would violate the laws governing LWCF, the administration has also asked for legislative changes to allow the fund to be used for different purposes, effectively weakening the strong protections for it put in place just five years ago. Adequately funding the management and maintenance of our public lands is critical, and the Great American Outdoors Act also created the Legacy Restoration Fund, which provides up to $1.9 billion each year, also from oil and gas leases, specifically to do just that. Authorization for the Legacy Restoration Fund runs out this year, but legislation has already been introduced to extend it. While both conservation acquisitions and maintenance are important on our public lands, there is no reason for them to be pitted against each other when separate funding sources exist for both. 

It’s no coincidence that the Wilderness Act and LWCF passed the same year— they work hand in hand. While the Wilderness Act laid out a pathway for private inholdings to be added to the wilderness surrounding them, LWCF was created to include a specific account for acquiring these critical wilderness inholdings. To weaken LWCF is to weaken our ability to carry out the vision of the Wilderness Act. While we’re not an advocacy organization, it is important for us to address how our work, and the places we work to protect, would be impacted by political actions: The proposed changes to LWCF funding would have a profoundly negative impact on our mission.

It is now up to Congress to decide whether or not to include these changes in their appropriations process. We have joined other conservation organizations in educating our senators and representatives about the importance of protecting LWCF for our public lands. In the meantime, with your support, we will continue to acquire properties in and around wilderness areas across the country, and will patiently hold them until they can safely be protected as public lands.

Learn more about LWCF and the coalition working to protect it here!