Texas Our Land, Our Water, Our Heritage

LWCF Success in Texas LWCF Funded Places in Texas The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has provided funding to Federal Units help protect some of Texas’ most special places and ensure recreational • Anahuac NWR access for hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. Texas has • Angelina NF received approximately $610 million in LWCF funding over the past four • Aransas NWR decades, protecting places such as Big Thicket National Preserve, San • Attwater Prairie Chicken Antonio Missions National Historic Park, Padre Islands National Seashore NWR and Balcones Canyonlands and Lower Rio Grande national wildlife • Balcones Canyonlands NWR refuges. • Big Thicket NPres • Fort Davis NHS Forest Legacy Program (FLP) grants are also funded under LWCF, to help • Guadalupe Mountains NP protect working forests. The FLP cost-share funding supports timber • Laguna Atascosa NWR • Lower Rio Grande NWR sector jobs and sustainable forest operations while enhancing wildlife • Lyndon Johnson NHP habitat, water quality and recreation. For example, the FLP contributed • Neches River NWR to places such as the Turkey Creek Project in Tyler and Hardin County • Padre Island NS and Burleson Wetland Project in Smith County. The FLP assists states • Palo Alto Battlefield NHS and private forest owners to maintain working forest lands through • Sabine NF matching grants for permanent conservation easement and fee • Sam Houston NF acquisitions, and has leveraged approximately $9.9 million in federal • San Antonio Missions NHP funds to invest in Texas’ forests, while protecting air and water quality, • San Bernard NWR • Santa Ana NWR wildlife habitat, access for recreation and other public benefits provided • Texas NWRs by forests. • Trinity River NWR LWCF state assistance grants have further supported hundreds of Federal Total $340,300,000 projects across Texas’ state and local parks including Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Armstrong County, Bastrop State Park in Bastrop County, State Programs Big Bend Ranch State Park in Presidio County and McKinney Falls State Forest Legacy $9,900,000 Park in Travis County. Additionally, the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program Partnership Program (ORLP), which funds city park projects in economically disadvantaged areas, supported Edward Rendon Sr Metro Habitat $53,600,000 Park in Austin and Buffalo Bend Hidalgo Park Greenway in Houston. Conservation (Sec. 6) Economic Benefits ORLP $1,500,000 Active outdoor recreation is an important part of Texas’ economy. The Stateside $199,800,000 Bureau of Economic Analysis has found that outdoor recreation generates $34.6 billion in value added to Texas’ economy, 340,798 homegrown jobs, and accounts for 2.1% of the state’s economy. Further, Total $610,000,000 the U.S. Census reports that each year 7.1 million people hunt, fish, or *multistate project enjoy wildlife-watching in Texas, contributing over $9.2 billion in wildlife recreation spending to the state economy.

Top: Guadalupe Mountains NP, Credit: NPS Note - All approximate totals derived from appropriations bills - Forest Legacy Program & Sec. 6 funded from LWCF starting in 2004 LWCF in Texas Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge Consisting of approximately 19,000 acres, Balcones Canyonlands NWR plays a significant role in habitat protection in the Southwest, supporting at least 375 species of birds, at least 1,500 plant species, over 120 native tree species, 55 species of mammals, 70 species of reptiles, and 80 species of fish. A boom in population and significant growth in commercial and residential development threatens privately held lands within refuge boundaries. Appropriations received over the last several years have protected these vital endangered species habitat lands and consolidated refuge inholdings. Completing the acquisition of these lands ensures the continued protection of this valuable area. Fiscal Year 2021 Agency Priority Project List for Texas LWCF is a simple idea: that a portion of offshore drilling Agency Project Amount Delegation fees should be used to protect important land and water for FWS Laguna Atascosa NWR $4,500,000 Cornyn, Cruz/Vela all Americans. These are not NPS Palo Alto Battlefield NHP $3,500,000 Cornyn, Cruz/Vela taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, for 55 years the promise of LWCF was broken as $22 billion was diverted from the program. The Great American Outdoors Act ended the diversion and ensures that LWCF ‘s permanently authorized $900 million is used for conservation and recreation projects each year.

LWCF supports the acquisition of land and conservation easements to protect our national parks, wildlife refuges, forests, trails, and BLM sites, grants funds to the states for local and state park needs, protects critical wildlife Status of the Land and Water Conservation Fund habitat, watersheds and recreational access, and In 2019, permanent authorization of LWCF was secured as part of S. 47, the conserves working farms, John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. Passage ranches and forestlands that of the Dingell Act ensures that LWCF no longer faces the uncertainty of enhance local economies. potential expiration, and that the unique structure and inflow of funds to LWCF is protected. Then in 2020 permanent full funding for LWCF was enacted into law in the Great American Outdoors Act– ensuring that each year the $900 million deposited into the LWCF account actually goes towards conservation and recreation priorities. Over the previous 55 years of the program, more than $22 billion was diverted from LWCF to other, unknown purposes. That meant that our public lands, waters, and historic sites were put in peril. As open space continues to shrink, LWCF investments become even more critical to providing the outdoor opportunities for all www.lwcfcoalition.org future generations. Click here to view a map of future LWCF projects.

For more information: Aransas NWR, Credit: FWS Amy Lindholm, [email protected]