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Funding Status

Current Funding for Grants

On July 11, 2011, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed the 2011 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Certificate of Apportionment distributing slightly more than $37.4 million to the States, Territories and Washington, DC, for grants for public outdoor recreation projects. The allocation for each State and Territory is determined based on a formula set in the LWCF Act, and is subsequently approved by the Secretary of the Interior. See the link below for State-by-State distribution.

Since the inception of the program in 1965, annual appropriations from the Fund have ranged from a high of $369 million in 1979 to four years of zero funding from 1996 to 1999. The LWCF experienced significant increases in Congressional appropriations for State and local grants during the 2000-2002 fiscal years, peaking at $140 million in FY 2002. Beginning in FY 2003, and continuing through FY 2009, funding for LWCF State grants declined to $19 million, the lowest figure since FY 1992 except for the zero years noted above.

However, also in FY 2009, the LWCF regular appropriation for the first time was supplemented by revenues from certain oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) designates 12.5 percent of the proceeds from leases in Areas 181, 181 South and the 2002-2007 planning areas to be dispensed to the States in accordance with Section 6 of the LWCF Act. The amount distributed in 2009 was $8,160,947, but dropped to less than $300 thousand in 2011 and is expected to remain low for the next several years. These funds will remain available until expended as opposed to the 3-year time frame for regular LWCF apportionments.

The President’s request for FY 2012 proposes a significant increase in appropriations for the LWCF State and local assistance grants program, $200 million was requested, 60 percent of which ($117 million) to be distributed through a nationwide grant competition, the balance through the normal apportionment process. The competition would target projects that would enhance urban parks and community green spaces, developing blueways and public access to water resources and conserving large landscapes.

FY 2007 Allocations

FY 2006 Allocations