Public lands advocates got some much-needed good news this week: Money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) will start rolling out to communities looking to expand outdoor recreation and access to nature.
On Monday, the Interior Department announced the release of $461 million from the fund, which has supported parks and conservation projects since its creation in 1964. The news marked a major turnaround from last summer, when the White House attempted to divert some of the LWCF’s funding to other federal agencies.
Moreover, this batch of funding is the first time that smaller communities can access grant money for building parks. It’s a big win for outdoor recreation, Amy Lindholm, LWCF’s director of federal affairs, told GearJunkie.
“We’ve been urging them to put out this funding opportunity since the end of 2024. So we’re thrilled that it finally happened,” Lindholm said. “The outcry over the White House’s proposal last summer really made a difference.”
A Turbulent Year for Public Lands
Almost exactly 1 year ago, the LWCF seemed to face an uncertain future. This massive federal fund sends roughly $900 million every year to parks and conservation projects throughout the country.
But the White House’s 2026 budget, released in June 2025, proposed diverting a third of the LWCF’s funding away from its intended purpose of protecting national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests, and other federal lands. That would have been a “stake through the heart” of the program, Lindholm told GearJunkie at the time.
But the White House didn’t get its way. That’s because Congress rejected President Trump’s proposal, choosing instead to maintain LWCF funding for parks and conservation.
“Congress said, ‘No, we’re not doing that.’ They stood up for LWCF, and they also rejected the public land sales proposals last year.” Lindholm said. “The public loves its public lands, and that’s definitely reflected in Congress in a very bipartisan way.”
In general, 2025 wasn’t a great year for public lands supporters. The White House made massive staffing cuts at many federal agencies, including the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and many others. Those staffing cuts impacted the LWCF, slowing its ability to implement many park programs. President Trump’s proposal to divert LWCF funding was also somewhat surprising, given that he originally chose to fully fund it with the passage of The Great American Outdoors Act in 2020.
Lindholm said that recent history underscores why this week’s announcement is so encouraging: “It seems like things are coming back to normal for the LWCF. Last year was a strange year.”
Funding for Smaller Communities
For years, the LWCF has funneled millions of federal dollars to larger cities looking to build parks through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP). It’s one of several LWCF programs that were funded by this week’s announcement.
And now — for the first time — the federal grants are also available to tribes and smaller cities. That means they can apply for money to build parks with the $125 million sent to the ORLP this week. The change was approved by Congress as part of the EXPLORE Act, passed at the end of 2024. But 2025 was “a strange year,” Lindholm said, and the LWCF has been waiting for the change to be implemented for a year and a half.
This expansion of the program’s mission means even more Americans will get access to nature, she said.
“The beauty of the LCWF is that it’s a whole toolbox that communities can use to get access to outdoor recreation in any way that meets their needs,” she said. “Here in America, we have world-class public lands. But we also really need those local places to have ways to get outside…. Maybe they don’t have a big national park in their backyard. Maybe they need pocket parks in the city.”
This week’s LCWF funding announcement also includes $327 million in state-level grants as well as $9 million for the Readiness and Recreation Initiative (RARI). The latter program aims for outdoor recreation projects that “strengthen military readiness and protect mission-critical landscapes near eligible military installations,” the Interior Department said.
And for the time being, it seems the White House understands that diverting LWCF funding will not get support from Congress. In its budget proposal for 2027, Trump’s administration now suggests keeping the program’s funding intact.
