 Spotlighting the Work to Restore, Connect and Conserve 30 Percent of Lands and Waters by 2030
News and Updates
In celebration of Great Outdoors Month, the Department of the Interior announced the distribution of $279 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia for state-identified outdoor recreation and conservation projects. These funds will help advance the Biden-Harris administration’s America the Beautiful initiative, supporting locally led trails, parks and outdoor access projects across the nation.
To honor National Trails Day, Secretary Haaland announced the designation of nine new national recreation trails in seven states, adding nearly 600 miles to the National Trails System. National recreation trails are jointly coordinated and administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service in conjunction with other federal and nonprofit partners. The trails -- now part of a network of more than 1,300 trails that can found in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico – support local economies and provide meaningful opportunities for outdoor recreation in line with the America the Beautiful initiative.
Deputy Secretary Beaudreau visited Texas to highlight investments through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program that will enable urban communities to create new outdoor recreation spaces, reinvigorate existing parks, and form connections between people and the outdoors in economically underserved communities. These efforts advance the America the Beautiful initiative’s goals to advance equity, biodiversity and climate resiliency through collaborative and locally led conservation and align with the recent announcement of the $1 billion America the Beautiful Challenge, which is being funded partly through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Governor Gavin Newsom has earmarked $5 million for California to acquire former farmland in the San Joaquin Valley to create the state’s first new park in 13 years. The park, which will become California’s 280th state park, will be in the Dos Rios Ranch area near Modesto, where the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers meet. The nearly four-square-mile property featuring willows and valley oaks comes from the River Partners, a nonprofit group that has been restoring the site for the last decade.
The Bureau of Land Management has opened a new internet-based portal to allow the public to more easily and efficiently nominate public lands that are currently inaccessible but could provide valuable opportunities for hunting, fishing and other recreational activities. The BLM expects the use of web-based and geospatial technology to speed the pace of nominations, which will then undergo evaluation and potential selection for inclusion on a priority list sent to Congress. The site opened for nominations on May 23, 2022, and will remain open to the public until June 30, 2022.
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