The United States ' Land and Water Conservation Fund ( LWCF ) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and easements on land and water, for the benefit of all Americans. The main emphases of the fund are recreation and the protection of national natural treasures in the forms of parks and protected forest and wildlife areas. The LWCF has a broad-based coalition of support and oversight, including the National Parks Conservation Association , Environment America , The Wilderness Society , the Land Trust Alliance , the Nature Conservancy , the National Wildlife Federation , and The Conservation Fund .
32-753: The Potomac Heritage Trail , also known as the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail or the PHT , is a designated National Scenic Trail corridor spanning parts of the mid-Atlantic region of the United States that will connect various trails and historic sites in Virginia , Maryland , Pennsylvania , and the District of Columbia . The trail network includes 710 miles (1,140 km) of existing and planned sections, tracing
64-425: A category of trails known as connecting or side trails. Though there are no guidelines for how these are managed, these have been designated by the secretary of the interior to extend trails beyond the original congressionally established route. Seven side trails have been designated: National recreation trail (NRT) is a designation given to existing trails that contribute to the recreational and conservation goals of
96-613: A day from leases on offshore oil and gas drilling. The program is divided into two distinct funding pools: state grants and federal acquisition funds. The distribution formula takes into account population density and other factors. On the federal side, each year, based on project demands from communities as well as input from the federal land management agencies, the President makes recommendations to Congress regarding funding for specific LWCF projects. In Congress, these projects go through an Appropriations Committee review process. Given
128-596: A national network of trails. Over 1,300 trails over all fifty states have been designated as NRTs on federal , state, municipal, tribal and private lands that are available for public use and are less than a mile to more than 500 miles (800 km) in length. They have a combined length of more than 29,000 miles (47,000 km). Most NRTs are hiking trails , but a significant number are multi-use trails or bike paths , including rail trails and greenways . Some are intended for use with watercraft, horses, cross-country skis , or off-road recreational vehicles . There are
160-647: A number of water trails that make up the National Water Trails System subprogram. Eligible trails must be complete, well designed and maintained, and open to the public. The NPS and the USFS jointly administer the National Recreation Trails Program with help from other federal and nonprofit partners, notably American Trails, the lead nonprofit for developing and promoting NRTs. The secretary of interior or
192-907: A recreation resource of superlative quality and of physical challenge." Most notably, the national scenic trail system provides access to the crest of the Appalachian Mountains in the east via the Appalachian Trail , of the Rocky Mountains in the west on the Continental Divide Trail , and of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges on the Pacific Crest Trail , which make up the Triple Crown of Hiking . Other places of note include
224-527: A report in 1966 entitled Trails for America . The study made recommendations for a network of national scenic trails, park and forest trails, and metropolitan area trails to provide recreational opportunities, with evaluations of several possible trails, both scenic and historic. The program for long-distance natural trails was created on October 2, 1968, by the National Trails System Act, which also designated two national scenic trails,
256-468: A total length of more than 91,000 mi (150,000 km). The scenic and historic trails are in every state, and Virginia and Wyoming have the most running through them, with six. In response to a call by President Lyndon B. Johnson to have a cooperative program to build public trails for "the forgotten outdoorsmen of today" in both urban and backcountry areas, the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation released
288-542: The Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail , and requested that an additional fourteen trail routes be studied for possible inclusion. Sponsored by Senators Henry M. Jackson and Gaylord Nelson and Representative Roy A. Taylor , part of the bill's impetus was threats of development along the Appalachian Trail, which was at risk of losing its wilderness character, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund
320-536: The Great American Outdoors Act into law, which requires that the LWCF be funded at $ 900 million yearly, a significant increase from previous funding levels. The primary source of income to the fund is fees and royalties paid to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement by oil and gas drilling offshore in federal water for oil and gas. Congress regularly diverts most of
352-629: The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in Montana, helped maintain Yellowstone National Park , and helped to build and maintain "thousands of local playgrounds, soccer fields, and baseball diamonds." Though LWCF is authorized with a budget cap of $ 900 million annually, this cap has been met only twice during the program's nearly four decades of existence. As of 2015 the program generated about $ 2.5 million
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#1732780268230384-544: The National Park Service (NPS), United States Forest Service (USFS), and/or Bureau of Land Management (BLM). These agencies may acquire lands to protect key rights of way , sites, resources and viewsheds , though the trails do not have fixed boundaries. They work in cooperation with each other, states, local governments, land trusts , and private landowners to coordinate and protect lands and structures along these trails, enabling them to be accessible to
416-653: The Santa Fe Trail , Old Spanish Trail , and Pony Express . They also memorialize the forced displacement and hardships of the Native Americans on the Trail of Tears and Nez Perce National Historic Trail . Their routes follow the nationally significant, documented historical journeys of notable individuals or groups but are not necessarily meant to be continuously traversed today; they are largely networks of partner sites along marked auto routes rather than
448-594: The secretary of agriculture (if on USFS land) designates national recreation trails that are of local and regional significance. Managers of eligible trails can apply for designation with the support of all landowners and their state's trail coordinator (if on non-federal land). Designated trails become part of the National Trails System and receive promotional benefits, use of the NRT logo, technical and networking assistance, and preference for funding through
480-621: The secretary of the interior or the secretary of agriculture . The national trails are supported by volunteers at private non-profit organizations that work with the federal agencies under the Partnership for the National Trails System and other trail type-specific advocacy groups. For fiscal year 2021, the 24 trails administered by the NPS received a budget of $ 15.4 million. The eleven national scenic trails were established to provide outdoor recreation opportunities and to conserve portions of
512-612: The Department of Transportation's Recreational Trails Program . American Trails sponsors an annual NRT photo contest and a biennial symposium and maintains the NRT database. The first national geologic trail was established by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 , though it did not amend the National Trails System Act to create an official category. Land and Water Conservation Fund In August 2020, President Trump signed
544-428: The LWCF expired on Sunday, September 30, 2018. The Land and Water Conservation Fund was permanently reauthorized as part of the bipartisan John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act , signed into law on March 12, 2019. It requires at least 40% of funds to be used by federal agencies and at least 40% to be allocated to the states. The Dingell Act , however, did not provide permanent funding for
576-416: The LWCF, merely permanent authorization. In 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act was introduced by Cory Gardner ( R - CO ) on March 9, 2020, during the 116th United States Congress . It would fully and permanently fund the LWCF. Considered unusually bipartisan in nature in the context of the 116th Congress, the bill attracted 59 co-sponsors, both Democrats and Republicans. On June 9, 2020, it passed
608-637: The NPS National Trails Office in Santa Fe and Salt Lake City. National historic trails were authorized under the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 ( Pub. L. 95–625 ), amending the National Trails System Act of 1968. They have a total length of approximately 40,000 mi (64,370 km); many trails include several branches making them much longer than a single end-to-end distance. The act also established
640-405: The NPS, managed like its other areas, as long, linear parks. Five trails are overseen by the U.S. Forest Service. In 2022 Arlette Laan, whose trail name was "Apple Pie", became the first woman known to have completely hiked all eleven national scenic trails. The 21 national historic trails are designated to protect the courses of significant overland or water routes that reflect the history of
672-677: The Potomac Heritage Trail is an informal route with numerous side trails and alternatives, some in parallel on each side of the river. Currently, many of these are separate, connected to the others only by roads. The PHT crosses the Appalachian Trail near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia , and is concurrent with the American Discovery Trail along the portion of the C&;O Canal Towpath between Oldtown, Maryland , and Washington, D.C. Three substantial sections of
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#1732780268230704-589: The exact non-motorized trails as originally used. Interpretative sites are often at other areas of the National Park System along the trails, as well as locally operated museums and sites. The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Wyoming is on the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express National Historic Trails and has exhibits on Western emigration. Nine are administered by
736-693: The funds from this source to other purposes, however. Additional minor sources of income include the sale of surplus federal real estate and taxes on motorboat fuel. Funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund have been utilized over the years on projects both large and small. LWCF has helped state agencies and local communities acquire nearly seven million acres (28,000 km ) of land and easements controlling further land, developed project sites including such popular recreational areas as Harper's Ferry in West Virginia, California's Big Sur Coast, and
768-539: The intense competition among projects, funding is generally only provided for those projects with universal support. Initially authorized for a twenty-five-year period, the LWCF has been extended for another twenty-five years, lasting until January 2015. In October 2015, describing it as a " slush fund ", Rob Bishop of Utah, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee , had blocked a vote on reauthorization. The legal authorization of
800-637: The nation. They represent the earliest European travels in the country in Chesapeake Bay and on Spanish royal roads; the nation's struggle for independence on the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail and Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route ; westward migrations on the Oregon , California , and Mormon Trails , which traverse some of the same route; and the development of continental commerce on
832-418: The natural landscape with significant scenic, natural, cultural, or historic importance. These trails are continuous non-motorized long-distance trails that can be backpacked from end-to-end or hiked for short segments, except for Natchez Trace NST, which consists of five shorter, disconnected trail segments. The Trails for America report said, "Each National Scenic Trail should stand out in its own right as
864-658: The natural, historical, and cultural features of the Potomac River corridor, the upper Ohio River watershed in Pennsylvania and western Maryland, and a portion of the Rappahannock River watershed in Virginia. The trail is managed by the National Park Service and is one of three National Trails that are official NPS units. Unlike many long-distance hiking trails such as the Appalachian Trail ,
896-753: The preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation". There are four types of trails: the national scenic trails, national historic trails, national recreation trails, and connecting or side trails. The national trails provide opportunities for hiking and historic education, as well as horseback riding , biking, camping , scenic driving , water sports, and other activities. The National Trails System consists of 11 national scenic trails, 21 national historic trails, over 1,300 national recreation trails, and seven connecting and side trails, as well as one national geologic trail, with
928-424: The public. These partnerships between the agency administrators and local site managers are vital for resource protection and the visitor experience. The Federal Interagency Council on the National Trails System promotes collaboration and standardization in trail development and protection. National recreation trails and connecting and side trails do not require congressional action, but are recognized by actions of
960-967: The southern wetlands and Gulf Coast on the Florida Trail , the North Woods on the North Country Trail , the variety of southwestern mountains and ecosystems on the Arizona Trail , and the remote high-mountain landscape near the Canadian border on the Pacific Northwest Trail . They have a total length of approximately 17,800 mi (28,650 km). Due to the extent of construction of route realignments, segment alternatives, and measurement methods , some sources vary in their distances reported and values may be rounded. Six trails are official units of
992-542: The trail were in existence when the Potomac Heritage Trail officially became a National Scenic Trail in 1983. These trails range from hiking -only to multi-use , illustrating the variety of the PHT route. Upon its completion, the Potomac Heritage Trail will consist of the following sections: National Scenic Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote
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1024-415: Was used to acquire lands. In 1978, as a result of the study of trails that were most significant for their historic associations, national historic trails were created as a new category with four trails designated that year. Since 1968, over forty trail routes have been studied for inclusion in the system. The scenic and historic trails are congressionally established long-distance trails , administered by
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