The U.S. Department of the Interior will allocate nearly $95 million to a federal land conservation fund. As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, Arizona will receive about $2 million through the program.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is supported by fees from offshore oil and gas development. It’s used to buy land for national parks and forests, and to benefit other federal and state agencies. The funds go toward locally supported conservation and recreation projects identified by state governments.
Arizona has received more than $220 million since the fund was established by Congress in the mid-1960s. The program has expanded Grand Canyon National Park and established the Sycamore Canyon Wildness area on the Coconino National Forest.
Congress last year reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund for three years. The Obama Administration, however, is calling for a its permanent renewal and full funding of $900 million a year.
