Conservation Funding

When government funding exists for important conservation projects, there’s a better chance that wilderness will be protected, studied and managed well.

Funding for conservation projects ends up in many different places, from trail maintenance to habitat restoration. For example, it can be used for:

  • Managing national parks
  • Conducting research on climate change in wildlife refuges
  • Buying new land that can be protected as public land by the Bureau of Land Management
  • Keeping visitor centers opened and maintained

Making sure the federal budget provides adequate funding for this kind of work is key to keeping wilderness protected.

Why conservation funding

Conservation work requires significant funding. Unfortunately, Congress constantly targets funds dedicated to conservation. We work to ensure lawmakers set aside adequate resources to keep public lands healthy and accessible.

Federal funding priorities

Each year members of Congress and the president make budgetary decisions about how federal tax dollars and fees are distributed for land and water conservation. Conservation funds are part of the president’s budget as well as legislative priorities managed by Congress.

Our conservation funding priorities

Certain funding priorities help ensure the protection of future wilderness areas. These include the federal ‘green budget’ and funding for land and water conservation.

Conservation funding FAQs

Have more questions about conservation funding? Our conservation FAQs can help.

  • Dear Representative Gosar:

    On behalf of the National Association of Counties (NACo), I am writing to express our support of the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act (H.R. 596). This landmark legislation would extend royalties and lease income from solar and wind projects developed on Federal lands to home states and counties.

  • Dear Representative Gosar:

    We are writing to express our support for sharing with states and counties renewable energy royalty revenues from federal lands. The language contained in the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act (HR 596) which you have introduced in the House would enact such revenue sharing.

  • Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of six national, member-based organizations, including Access Fund, American Canoe Association, American Hiking Society, American Whitewater, International Mountain Bicycling Association, and Winter Wildlands Alliance, represents the interests of the millions of Americans who hike, paddle, climb, mountain bike, and backcountry ski on our nation’s public lands, waters, and snowscapes. Collectively, Outdoor Alliance has members in all fifty states and a network of nearly 1,400 local clubs and advocacy groups across the nation.