Latest news with #LWCF
E&E News
05-08-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Interior weighs steering conservation cash toward park maintenance
The Interior Department has been preparing a plan to siphon funds from a popular conservation program to public lands maintenance projects, potentially setting up a spending battle with Congress, according to a person familiar with the document. The memorandum being drafted by Interior seeks to reallocate funds intended to purchase new federal lands or pay for state grants and instead put that money toward repairs and upkeep at national parks and other federal sites. The order under consideration by the Trump administration was first reported by The Washington Post. An Interior spokesperson did not respond to questions about the move, but the agency indicated in its fiscal 2026 budget in brief issued in June that it was targeting $276.1 million designated for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to divert to maintenance needs. Advertisement A conservation advocate, who was granted anonymity to discuss confidential conversations, told POLITICO's E&E News that Interior is drafting a new document on the use of LWCF monies.
E&E News
02-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Trump move to redirect conservation dollars sparks anger
Conservationists are urging Congress to ignore President Donald Trump's requested changes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund in his fiscal 2026 budget request. Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law during his first term, which provided permanent annual funding of $900 million for the LWCF. The fund is used to purchase land for conservation or recreation use. But the LWCF Coalition and other conservation groups say Trump's new budget request, released Friday, would 'put a stake in the heart' of the program by diverting funds away from LWCF. Advertisement Specifically, the budget would propose diverting $111 million in LWCF funding to a new 'Forest Service Deferred Maintenance Program.'
